Economics

Trump’s Big UK Visit Comes at Worst Possible Time for Starmer

Keir Starmer pick ups the signed trade agreement Donald Trump dropped during the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, on June 16.Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Alex Wickham and Ailbhe Rea

September 13, 2025 at 4:00 AM UTC

Prime Minister Keir Starmer was elected last July promising a “quieter” politics after years of chaos and scandal under the Conservatives. Losing two senior members of the UK government to scandal in less than a week sees the premier facing a charge he could never have imagined: that his Labour administration is no less noisy than the Tories.

That’s the perilous domestic subtext as President Donald Trump flies in to Britain for an historic second state visit on Tuesday. The timing of the three-day trip could barely be more awkward for Starmer coming just days after he sacked his ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, following a Bloomberg News investigation which revealed his relationship with pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein lasted longer than previously known. The prospect of a joint news briefing in which Trump and Starmer are repeatedly asked about Epstein is giving UK government officials nightmares, one said.