Sir Keir Starmer jetted off to Washington DC today in a bid to woo Donald Trump with his newly-announced defence spending pledge.
The Prime Minister is heading across the Atlantic for crunch talks in the White House, as he attempts to convince the US President not to abandon Europe and Ukraine.
Ahead of his trip, in an announcement firmly directed at Mr Trump, Sir Keir said UK defence spending will rise from its current 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.5 per cent in 2027.
He scrambled to pledge the increase in Britain’s military budget amid huge doubts over America’s commitment to European security after Mr Trump’s return to power.
It also follows the US President’s repeated calls for NATO allies to boost spending on their armed forces and to shoulder greater responsibility for their own security.
Sir Keir said the £6billion-a-year uplift would ‘ensure the security and defence of our country and of Europe’ in the face of the threat from Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
But there are fears the PM is facing a ‘mission impossible’ in trying to convince Mr Trump to provide a US security guarantee for any possible ceasefire deal in Ukraine.
Sir Keir will also bid to secure a UK carve-out from Mr Trump’s threat to slap tariffs on European nations, as well as win US backing for his Chagos Islands deal.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is desperately trying to deliver economic growth, insisted the UK can boost trade with the US under Mr Trump despite his tariffs threat.
The US President sparked alarm in European capitals this month by beginning peace talks with Putin’s regime, while excluding Ukraine from the nascent negotiations.
He has also appeared to spout Moscow propaganda over Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour, which has now entered a fourth year.
During his talks in the White House, Sir Keir will hope to persuade Mr Trump over the necessity of a US security guarantee over a potential ceasefire.
He will also set out his plans for European troops – including British servicemen – to be based in Ukraine in order to enforce any peace agreement.
Ahead of Sir Keir’s arrival in Washington DC, Lord Mandelson – the UK’s new ambassador to the US – said the PM’s visit was coming at a ‘crucial time’.
‘The PM’s visit comes at a crucial time in the evolution of President Trump’s thinking on Ukraine,’ the former Cabinet minister told Politico.
‘He will be listening to the leader of America’s closest ally. We can only do what’s best for Ukraine by doing it together.’
Ms Reeves also talked up the importance of Sir Keir’s trip as she expressed confidence the UK can boost trade with the US over the next four years.
The Chancellor said the announced increase in defence spending was ‘in our national interest’ when asked if the UK expects Mr Trump to withdraw his threat of 20 per cent tariffs in return.
‘In terms of the future trading relationship between the UK and the US, last time that President Trump was in the White House, trade and investment between our two countries increased,’ she told Bloomberg.
‘I have every confidence that that can happen again. I know that the PM looks forward to talking about those issues and many others in his meetings with Donald Trump tomorrow.’
Ms Reeves also suggested a peace deal in Ukraine would be good for economic growth.
‘Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has placed a heavy burden on the global economy, with higher energy prices, higher food prices and disruption to global trade,’ she added.
The Chancellor said there was ‘no doubt’ that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had played a role in the higher inflation and weaker growth the UK has seen.
She continued: ‘It is essential it’s a just and a durable peace if we are to get the benefits both for Ukraine and, indeed, the global economy.’
Meanwhile, Deputy PM Angela Rayner played down claims of Cabinet splits over Sir Keir’s defence spending pledge, which is to be funded by cutting UK foreign aid.
She told broadcasters: ‘No-one could have predicted the situation we are in in Europe at the moment.
‘And, of course, it was absolutely right the PM said we had to increase defence spending because the number one responsibility of any Government is to keep people safe.
‘It is devastating that we’ve had to reduce the overseas aid budget, but we had to set a balanced budget.
‘We understand the economy was in a very difficult position after 14 years of the Tories
‘We’ve taken the decisive action to protect our country and to make sure that the economy is in a strong position, so that going forward we can increase the budget for overseas aid as the money becomes available.
‘The Cabinet had a discussion on it and we were all united that the number one responsibility of any government is to keep its citizens safe.
‘We recognised that we needed to make sure we had extra resources within our defence space.’
Earlier on Wednesday, Sir Keir refused to rule out his defence spending boost being partly used to fund Labour’s £9billion deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.
During Prime Minister’s Questions this afternoon, Sir Keir dodged questions on whether the defence boost also includes funding for his Chagos Islands deal.
In a controversial move, the PM is planning to hand over the Indian Ocean archipelago – which has been a British overseas territory for more than 200 years – to Mauritius.
Under the agreement, it has emerged how Britain will then lease back a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia – the largest of the islands – for at least 99 years.
Labour ministers have kept silent on how much the lease will cost British taxpayers, although reports have suggested Mauritius will be paid £90million a year.
Across the length of the 99 years, this is a financial commitment of nearly £9billion.
Downing Street refused to say if Sir Keir would discuss his Chagos Islands deal with Mr Trump when he visits the US President in the White House.