Donald Trump has weighed in on Sir Keir Starmer’s political future as he warned it will be “tough” for him to survive as prime minister.
The US president said Sir Keir, who is currently facing immense pressure to resign following the fallout of Labour’s disastrous local election results, will struggle to remain in office unless he deals with immigration and energy policy.
Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One as he returned from his three-day visit to China, Mr Trump renewed his criticism of Sir Keir’s government.
He has called on the UK to expand drilling in the North Sea a number of times, taking to his Truth Social platform to demand Sir Keir “‘drill, baby, drill”.
Earlier this week, he said Sir Keir was “windmilling the country to death” and asked whether he should quit or fight on said: “That’s up to him, but I told him from day one, you’re getting killed on energy.”
On his state visit to the UK last year, Mr Trump also called on the government to use the military to bring illegal migration under control.
The comments mark yet another swipe at the prime minister, whose previously strong relationship with Mr Trump has taken a hit in recent months.
The pair continue to be at odds over the president’s approach to war in the Middle East, with Mr Trump calling Sir Keir “no Winston Churchill” as he expressed anger that countries, including the UK, did not back US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
Sir Keir is currently facing a civil war within his party, as he prepares to fight a leadership challenge in the coming weeks.
Speculation that Sir Keir could face a challenge has been circling for months, but calls for his resignation have grown louder following last week’s poor local election results.
In another dramatic day in Westminster, the key challengers to No 10 all appeared to make their first moves.
Andy Burnham was offered a path back to Parliament when a Labour MP stood down, triggering a by-election which the Greater Manchester mayor hopes to contest.
Wes Streeting, meanwhile, resigned as health secretary, but stopped short of launching an immediate leadership challenge, instead calling for “the best possible field of candidates” to be lined up first.
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner revealed that she had been cleared by HMRC of deliberate wrongdoing over her tax affairs, clearing the path for a potential tilt at the top job.
While almost 100 MPs have so far publicly called for Sir Keir’s resignation, they are not united behind a single candidate to replace him.
