The UK and other European nations must draw closer together as the US becomes a less-reliable partner, Keir Starmer has said in his first significant political intervention since leaving No 10.
The former prime minister warned European leaders of the threat posed by Russia, among others, and said the shift in relations with Washington during Donald Trump’s presidency was not likely to reset once he leaves the Oval Office. He accused them of being caught out by these new realities twice already.
“A stronger Europe is vital and the UK must be at the heart of it,” Starmer told an audience at the British Irish Chamber of Commerce on Friday. “Europe has twice been caught asleep, failing to anticipate and prepare for predictable events.
“First, when Russia’s attack on Ukraine exposed longstanding European weaknesses on defence and security, and second, when President Trump made clear, once and for all, that the US will no longer bankroll our European security. We have to catch up.”
Starmer had called for closer European ties before stepping down as prime minister in July. Three months earlier, amid Trump’s war with Iran and his threats to withdraw from Nato, Starmer said Europe represented a “partnership for a dangerous world we must navigate together”.
He said those ties should go further than just defence, adding that Brexit had done “deep damage” to the UK economy, and that he wanted to be “more ambitious”, including pursuing “closer economic cooperation [and] closer security cooperation”.
Starmer spoke after spending time in Dublin meeting senior business leaders and politicians, including the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, with whom he established the annual UK-Ireland summit.
“I will say here what I have said to European leaders. This is about responding to a permanent change of affairs, not an aberration of the Trump presidency. Things will not go back to the way they were before.
“That doesn’t mean the US relationship is no longer important. On the contrary, the military, security and intelligence alliance is far too strong for that. But it does mean enabling Europe to take on far more responsibility for its own defence and security.”
His comments reflect a growing consensus on the left of UK politics that closer ties with Europe are essential to ensure economic and military security. Soon after taking office as Starmer’s successor, Andy Burnham said that he intended to be “bolder” about closer ties with the EU.
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Next month, Burnham will attend a crucial EU-UK summit where new agreements on food standards, energy and youth mobility will be the main focus.
Burnham has also said he wants a public debate on how the UK could move to a closer relationship with the EU after the next election. At a meeting of European defence ministers in Paris this week, the defence secretary, Wes Streeting, said that they were “united and unwavering” in support for Ukraine in the face of Russian hostility.
Starmer said: “We need to build up pan-European cooperation and coordination on defence and security – a common security framework as much as a common market. The EU is changing to respond to that, but it cannot be the EU alone when Europe’s periphery is core to its defence.
“Britain must be central to that project. We are one of two nuclear powers. We are a leading Nato member. We have a viable next-generation fighter jet programme. And we are pledged to work alongside European allies to guarantee security in Ukraine.
“Ireland and the UK stand side by side in the coalition of the willing and with Ukraine, working together to guarantee and shape the security of our continent. I hope and believe that Britain’s relationship with its friends and allies can and should be strengthened by this urgent and common security project.”
