Issues that may challenge historically close relations between the UK and the United States include the Russia–Ukraine conflict and trade tariffs.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK’s special relationship with the United States will “continue to prosper” following President-elect Donald Trump’s “historic election victory.”
Trump declared he had won a “magnificent victory for the American people” as he appeared all but certain to return to the White House as 47th president of the United States after a night of resounding wins for the Republicans.
The prime minister may have to build bridges with Trump after the Republican campaign team filed a legal complaint about Labour activists being flown over to the United States to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Starmer said on social media platform X: “Congratulations president-elect Trump on your historic election victory. I look forward to working with you in the years ahead.
“As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defence of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise.
“From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.”
Trump’s return to the White House could cause diplomatic headaches for the UK, with potential differences on trade policy and U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO.
Ukraine Funding
The president-elect has indicated he is unwilling to keep sending U.S. dollars and weapons to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and previously enjoyed good diplomatic relations with Russia.
He has repeatedly said that he would use his influence with President Vladimir Putin to help end the Russia–Ukraine conflict.
Trump has long complained about U.S. tax dollars being used to fund European wars, and has been highly critical about NATO members not spending enough.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said on X he is looking forward to working with Trump and his running mate JD Vance, in spite of his previous, outspoken comments on the returning president.
Some of Lammy’s remarks on Trump include calling him a “racist and KKK/neo-Nazi sympathiser” in 2017 and a “tyrant in a toupee” a year later.
“The UK has no greater friend than the US, with the special relationship being cherished on both sides of the Atlantic for more than 80 years,” Lammy said on X, after the result was clear on Wednesday morning.
The prime minister met with the president-elect at Trump Tower while on a visit to New York in September.
New York Meeting
Speaking to journalists just before their two-hour dinner in New York, Trump jokingly said, “I’m going to see him in about an hour so I have to be nice!” and then added, “I actually think he’s very nice.”
After the news broke about the legal complaint in relation to Labour funding campaigners for Harris, Starmer said that he was “very grateful” to Trump for making the time to see him in New York.
Asked whether the campaign issue could jeopardise the relationship, the prime minister replied simply, “No.”
New Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also congratulated Trump on his “historic victory,” saying on X, “The world faces many serious challenges and I look forward to our two countries working together to confront them.”
Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor of London who had a long-running social media feud with Trump during his first term, is yet to offer his congratulations to the president-elect.
“Many will be fearful about what it will mean for democracy and for women’s rights, or how the result impacts the situation in the Middle East or the fate of Ukraine,” he said in a statement.
“Others will be worried about the future of NATO or tackling the climate crisis.”
He added, “The lesson of today is that progress is not inevitable.”
History with Khan
Trump once called Khan a “stone-cold loser” and challenged him to take an IQ test, after the mayor signed off on London protests in which the then-president was caricatured as a baby on a giant inflatable.
While the UK stock market rallied on Wednesday morning as news of Trump’s victory came in, the UK economy could be impacted negatively by the tariffs that the president-elect has vowed to impose on imports to the United States.
The UK’s FTSE 100 jumped by around 1.5 percent when markets opened on Wednesday as the inevitable Republican win provides some certainty for the future of the world’s biggest economy.
The pound was down about 1 percent against the U.S. dollar, with the American currency making sharp gains overnight.
Zelenskyy also offered his congratulations, saying: “I appreciate President Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer. I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.
“We rely on continued strong bipartisan support for Ukraine in the United States.”
Former Defence Secretary Sir Ben Wallace said Trump’s return to the White House should spur European NATO members to commit more to security, with a pledge to spend 3 percent of GDP.
“Whatever your feelings about the U.S. election are, the best insurance for all our security is to invest in our own defence and security right across Europe,” he said on X.
‘Genuine Radical’
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage, a vocal Trump supporter, said the president-elect would be a “genuine radical.”
He told BBC Radio 4’s “Today”: “What you are going to see from this Trump administration, and I’m guessing that Elon Musk will be the man that is tasked to do it, is there will be a big fightback against the administrative bureaucratic state which is far too big, far too powerful, and actually very undemocratic.
“What is very interesting about the Trump movement is that its critics call it all sorts of nasty names, the truth is in many ways it’s bringing Americans together.”
In his victory speech from Florida, Trump told his supporters, “America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,“ and said that it is “time to put the divisions of the past four years behind us.”
He said: “Every single day I will be fighting for you with every breath in my body.
“I will not rest until we have delivered the strong, safe, and prosperous America that our children deserve and that you deserve.”
He added, “This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again.”
By the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Republicans appeared on course to control the Senate as well as retain control in the House of Representatives, which would allow Trump far more power to get legislation through than during his first term.