So far we have heard the new PM wants policy to be less pro Israel. He had a successful first conversation with President Trump, but many potential tensions remain in the US/UK relationship from the second half of the Starmer period. The President will expect the UK to deliver on higher defence spending so the UK can make a bigger contribution to policing sea lanes and protecting Western interests than the pathetic response to the Gulf war and the threats to Cyprus and our installations in the Gulf. He has strongly recommended getting more of our own oil and gas out, which would be in the UK’s national interest and would strengthen western energy security a bit. I doubt Mr Burnham will have the will and the skill to achieve much in shifting policy away from the self harming accelerated close down policy of Mr Miliband.
He also has the problem that Mr Miliband at the Foreign Office will be encouraging more international agreements and better policing of our current obligations under the UN climate change mantra. The President will want a more positive response to his war with Iran which would be difficult for any UK PM. The UK wants the war over but does not want to contribute to it militarily and did not propose it in the first place. The best that can be done is to develop our maritime role to help clear mines to restore more shipping routes.We do of course need to allow the US to use its bases, otherwise they could pull out of supporting our defences. That comes with its own risks.
Policy towards the EU will continue to be craven surrender. The new PM is as desperate to have a deal and a big publicity driven summit as his predecessor. There will be a big price to be paid for warmer words from the EU. Their plan is clear. They want the UK to assume more and more of the laws, taxes and responsibilities of their single market, which has always been a whole government scheme, not a free market. The EU will charge us for “more access” to the single market where we already have a tariff free trade agreement, which will in practice mean rules that are more likely to favour their companies than ours. The UK negotiators always forget we are mainly the customer of the single market, not the supplier, as our imports of goods so greatly exceed our exports. I have set out before what a dreadful deal Erasmus is for our students and taxpayers, and I strongly oppose the sell out of our fishing industry yet again.
The immediate challenge should be to get rid of the latest Trump tariffs. With Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary this is more difficult, given his anti Trump views and his policy of importing so many cheap solar panels from China. When will Ed Miliband talk about labour practices in China’s solar panel supply?
July 24, 2026
All very negative and I strongly agree.
The EU is effectively a go to distraction attempt by Labour every time.
On defence I noted Iran referenced Fairford as a just target due US bombers utilising it.. unfortunate but the US should certainly trump Iran in our loyalties, pun intended..
July 24, 2026
‘ many potential tensions remain in the US/UK relationship’
The same could be said about most other countries’ relationship with the US. Trump is becoming increasingly unhinged and subject to dramatic change of attitude. Most countries are wary of him.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.
July 24, 2026
The mad net zero religion is incompatible with a sensible defence policy and with a sound economy. A sensible energy policy and a decent economy are both needed for a proper defence policy. But doom loop net zero lunacy seems set to continue under Burnham.
July 24, 2026
So 120 uk millionaires including Gary Lineker want themselves and others to be forced to pay more tax in wealth taxes. Most of the ones I know can easily think of far better things to invest it in or give it to charity or form their own charity. Far better to do that than give it to government to piss down the drain on HS2, net zero, net harm Covid Vaccines and lockdowns… Perhaps Gary can have a think come up with some better ideas himself.
Burnham says we want money and power to go to those who can use it best – local politicians he thinks God help us. The people who use it best are those who made it so cut taxes and leave it with them saves on admin costs too and they stay in the country that way too so the tax base increases too.
July 24, 2026
@Peter – perversely could it be that ‘Trump’ is simply trying to get others to step up and take some of the ‘load’.
Last time in power Trump was disturbed by the EU having tariffs on some US good 400% more than the US had on the EU’s exports. He spent the whole time/term in office playing the EU game of talking, until of course they talked him out of office so to speak.
So this time it a blunderbuss/scattergun approach, he has achieved more equitable trade that is closer to being reciprocal. With NATO instead of the US (population 350million against the EU’s 450million)Taxpayer funding and providing the manning for 80 odd % of NATO some have tried to rebalance and accept their own responsibilities.
None of us find his approach, lets call it ‘ is civilised’ but we have to recognise that the constant kicking one nation in the teeth at their own cost starts to wear a bit thin, it will always come back to haunt you. A bit like the UK Parliament not being ‘fit for purpose’ to change it’s attitude to the country and its people is going to get messy
July 24, 2026
How about Russia? If we continue our war against them we risk a losing direct kinetic confrontation and then escalation to what, MAD? All because our leadership class lacks real leadership skills and hopes war will avert public hostility to their inept management of the economy, public safety, immigration, energy policy etc?
July 24, 2026
@Wanderer – the main criteria is not about Russia its is about the UK being able to protect itself and its interests.
The wacky idea promoted by Kier Starmer was that our ‘partners’ will always come to our aid. The problem with that is it assumes that these unnamed partners, would want to, and whether or not they had similar problems. It comes back down to the responsibility of parliament is to keep us safe, the security needed for that is in our own resilience and self-reliance.
July 24, 2026
@Wanderer – sarc, what leadership, what class, get passed personal ‘ego’, personal self-esteem we are left with hollowed out brains that want to sit on their hands and take the money
July 24, 2026
Foreign policy for this gang of socialists means using international bodies to bypass democracy in Britain.
July 24, 2026
Russia is not a serious military threat. It is opportunist and teasing. And who can blame it? NATO’s unnecessary and wreckless expansion eastwards after the collapse of the USSR and WP in conjunction with dishonest dialogue has made the Russians hostile and distrustful. Add to that the interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs by US democrats and the EU and their support of the Maidan riots; Merkel’s ultimatum to Ukraine – no neutrality, choose either the EU or Russia and it is obvious why Russia distrusts the West and regards it with hostility. And while Britain’s Woke Left and successive governments act as doormats for Islamist infiltration and domination there is simply no need for Russia to risk the lives of its people attacking the West while the West is destroying itself. As Napoleon said, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake”. Britain and Europe are making many self destructive mistakes.
July 24, 2026
Russia is more than a serious threat. It is killing innocent Ukrainians.
If Ukraine wants to join NATO or the EU it should be able to do so without threat from outside. However, does Russia feel that peaceful countries such as those in NATO would be likely to invade them without reason?
July 24, 2026
PG :
I agree with your analysis of the reason for Russia invading Ukraine. We were caught up with this EU craving for expansion when members of the EU with PM Cameron, the self-styled “heir to Blair”, making a dreadful speech in Kazakhstan in 2013 declaring that the EU should extend further into the former USSR and reach from the Atlantic to the Urals. But I disagree that Russia is not a serious military threat if only because it has nuclear weapons. In addition it supports and quite possibly surreptitiously funds our CAGW activists who are using the false narrative that our (not Russia’s or China’s) burning of fossil fuels will cause a climate crisis and demand we implement Net Zero to save the planet, a strategy that is sabotaging our energy and destroying our economy and national security.
July 24, 2026
I doubt the PM has much interest in foreign policy and will have little influence over it, it has been handed entirely to Miliband as a consolation prize to keep him quiet. I expect he’ll be jetting all over the world to whatever climate conference is on next.
July 24, 2026
Good morning.
Foreign policy: Anti-British. Anti-West. Anti-American. Anti-Israel. Pro-Third World. Pro-EU. Pro-Palestinian. Pro-Anyone who does thinks we own them reperations.
Basically, little change.
July 24, 2026
Milliband should work to get the whole Hormuz shipping debacle referred back to the IMO (International Maritime Organisation) under the auspices of the UN for review and adjudication. It is clear that the Americans by themselves are not going to be able to resolve this situation.
July 24, 2026
The only ways to resolve the Hormuz situation is victory or capitulation and tolls. There is little ground in the middle. Pandora’s box has been opened.
Bomb them and them bomb them again. Then allow the Israelis to finish it.
July 24, 2026
Sounds like a good plan. Accompanied by a proper cease-fire, and implementation of the MOU between the US and Iran.
July 24, 2026
@Graham – the IMO, the UN have no authority and no powers, no police, or laws that can back them up. They are talking shops in ‘hope’
That’s not to suggest the US has that authority, they could just walk away the situation doesn’t effect them directly, they don’t need the oil, the gas and have no shipping or trade in the area. But yes the US, like many others other than our own parliament is not keen on the proliferation of nuclear weapons that Iran is keen to acquire, the region is unstable at the best of times Iran feeding that doesn’t help.
The correct power is with those nations that are having their shipping their trade disrupted in International Water. The UK Parliament point blank refused to protect UK lives, UK shipping, UK trade in the area, they have left UK interest at the mercy of what appears to be a tyrant .
July 24, 2026
Backdoor Burnham has made little comment about Foreign policy. I doubt that his plans involve us being anything but a rule taker from foreign bodies while keeping President Trump as onside as possible until November when he becomes a lame duck.
We have no army to project hard power and our soft power has been given away for little reward. He is in a position of massive weakness.
July 24, 2026
Is the new PM thinking of anything other than himself?
July 24, 2026
The appointment of Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary shows Burnham is not interested in foreign affairs.
July 24, 2026
The appointment of Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary shows Burnham has absolute faith in him to improve our image and foreign affairs……
July 24, 2026
My attempts to overcome the vagaries of the site’s input protocols may have led to multiple similar posts my apologies if that is the case. Suffice to say I have no confidence in the new cabinet appointments and their new roles
July 24, 2026
Isn’t London now considered ‘foreign’? Isn’t the point of a costly ‘No10’ of the North following in always AWOL 2TK’s footsteps of never allowing your ‘ego’ to be questioned by never being available.
The new socialist version of democracy, make pronouncement and ensure you don’t have to explain.
July 24, 2026
It seems we don’t have a great deal to be thankful for or to look forward to with regards to our new PM, unless you are a hard hat socialist who believes a huge big brother state resembles heaven and that we should all surrender ourselves to a greater power, the EU.
Burnham is clearly itching to increase our debt levels with only partially thought out schemes to make it look like he cares for those impaled on the destruction invoked by his predecessor.
I read that Chagos is still ‘on’, in all of it’s insane waste. It’s also rumoured that he will support an international treaty the greens are running with to compensate 3rd world countries for alleged climate change. And we are still sending money and resources to Ukraine for no good reason! Where will this insanity end?
It should be clear to all concerned that socialism is not just another form of country management – it is a brain destroying illness that relies on false concepts, warped and lacking any reality. Our new PM is of the same ilk as the last one, perhaps better spoken and with some empathy, but don’t look for any real future with him either. More taxation and imposition of ideology are his game too.
July 24, 2026
‘tensions remain in the US/UK relationship from the second half of the Starmer period’ So to cope the UK Parliament thinks Ed Miliband is the answer?
July 24, 2026
Anyone who believes the EU is the answer to the UK’s problems is an idiot. Sadly our new PM seems just as thick as our previous one in that regard. Burnham’s first big mistake was to make Ed Miliband Foreign Secretary and then appoint another Net Zero Fanatic as Energy Secretary.
Who is proud that the UK is represented by the man who has done most to damage the UK economy? But Miliband won’t last long because he is a walking disaster.
UK Foreign policy for the last two years has been how to do the most damage to the UK, and I suspect it will continue to be the same under Burnham. What an absolute shower they all are!
July 24, 2026
What a sad state of affairs. Our country is sliding into an abyss of its own making – all so unnecessary.
‘The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world’ (1 Jn 4:14).
Go figure!
July 24, 2026
366 illegals crossed our borders yesterday
July 24, 2026
doing whatever the Indian government wants would seem to be the main one, agreeing to print uncapped work visas for Indian nationals, agreeing to let them work national insurance free for 5 years.
seems we are all being replaced by Indian nationals.