Douglas Murray Douglas Murray

Britain’s failing statecraft

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issue 23 November 2024

I mentioned some weeks ago that one of the great points of interest – not to say enjoyment – in our era will be seeing how Keir Starmer’s government copes with the incoming Donald Trump administration in Washington. It is fair to say that many Labour MPs, not to mention the mayor of London (who spends more time grandstanding abroad than he does addressing violent crime in his own city), have been wildly impolitic. If there are two candidates in the running to lead your most important ally it would seem prudent for a wise man to keep his diplomatic options open. Alas, Westminster does not appear to be flooded by wise men.

‘I can’t emphasise enough what a bad idea it would be for the UN to use the transition to attack Israel’

In any case, an early example of the problem has just emerged, not in London or Washington, but in New York.

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