Editorial from Issue 53 of Socialist Alternative’s monthly newspaper
The first month of Donald Trump’s second Presidency has sent a dizzying whirlwind of chaos, fear and upheaval around the globe, and it has certainly not passed Britain by. Dealing with Trump is undoubtedly item number one on the current agenda of Starmer’s government. From the threat of trade tariffs which hang over the British economy, to the disarray over Trump’s twists and turns over Ukraine, to the rise of Britain’s own Trumpism in the form of Reform UK, the challenges are coming hard and fast.
But Starmer and his government have already worked out a common response to each and every one of these challenges: bend the knee, flatter, and dance furiously to Trump’s tune whenever possible, in the hope that in this way, the bully won’t direct his fists at you. In a new geopolitical era, Starmer’s neo-Blairism is picking up where the original Blairism left off, reaffirming British imperialism as the US’s lapdog-in-chief among the Western powers.
A “bridge between Europe and the US”
So far, the Labour government is cautiously pleased at the results of this approach. Not because it has gained anything at all, but because it is Britain’s neighbouring imperialist powers on the European continent which have borne the brunt of Trump’s aggression against the US’s beleaguered ‘allies’. Starmer & co hope to benefit from this situation, and assume the importance of friendly interlocutors, “a bridge between Europe and the US” as they themselves put it. Beware of bridges with such shoddy foundations!
While Trump has threatened the EU with punitive blanket tariffs to address the US trade deficit, his comments on Britain have been noticeably more friendly, though tariffs on Britain are also on the cards. The difference in approach has nothing at all to do with Starmer’s diplomatic skills. Rather it has much more to do with the woeful state of the British economy. US capitalism has much less to fear from the deindustrialised backwater that is 2020s Britain compared to the more important (albeit faltering) industrial powerhouse of Germany, for instance.
UK government representatives also sided with Trump’s envoys at the recent global AI summit in France. They rebuked EU leaders by failing to sign the summit communiqué, instead supporting a Trumpian approach of AI ultra-deregulation, in a desperate attempt to break out of British capitalism’s economic quagmire.
In all of this, Starmer’s government is single-mindedly pursuing the interests of British big business. For sections of the ruling class, Trump’s conflicts with European powers presents an opportunity to finally seize on the ever-so-elusive economic advantages of Brexit, allowing ‘UK plc’ to pursue closer independent economic ties with both the US and European markets.
However, no amount of clever manoeuvring in trade talks will cure the fundamental weakness of the British economy, which is borne of decades of parasitic underinvestment in productivity, labour and infrastructure, in pursuit of higher profits. Rachel Reeves’ entire economic policy, based on squeezing public spending in the name of self-imposed sacrosanct ‘fiscal rules’, impedes any meaningful addressing of these problems.
A new push for “rearmament” – money for pay, welfare and services, not war!
Starmer has also sought to curry Trump’s favour in another tried and tested Blairite manner: by offering the services of British troops in overseas imperialist conflict. In the face of Trump’s abrupt shift in policy on Ukraine, demanding that Europe step into the breach, Starmer was the first to publicly support active deployment of personnel into the continent’s bloodiest conflict since WWII.
This comes amid a massive new push from Trump’s administration for a new, turbocharged arms race in Europe, with demands that NATO members commit 5% of GDP to their war industries. As things stand, the UK currently spends around 2.3%. Labour immediately pledged its preparedness to put ‘peacekeeping’ troops on the ground in Ukraine, and seems likely to beef up military spending to at least 2.5% of GDP in order to do so. In monetary terms, this amounts to between £5-6bn yearly.
This is becoming a crucial political question in Britain and one that will have serious consequences for public sector pay and services, benefits and more. In the name of satisfying Trump’s militarist demands, Starmer and Reeves will inevitably resort to more ‘tough choices’. Public spending departments have reportedly already been asked to prepare for 11% cuts. Pay negotiations over Reeves’ insulting below-inflation offers will undoubtedly be affected, with teachers already balloting for strike action.
The labour movement must take a clear position in the face of this crucial political battle: not a penny more to the war machine, either for Israel’s genocidal wars, the imperialist conflict in Ukraine, or anywhere else. Instead, cut military spending and tax the rich to fund pay restoration, dignified benefits, social housing and green infrastructure!
British Trumpism rising unabated
The Labour government has also done its best to mimic Trump’s policies at home, especially in relation to the abuse of migrants. Millions of pounds are funneled into grotesque social media campaigns boasting that Labour are the best deporters of poor and often desperate migrants and refugees. A new law seeks to forbid anyone desperate enough to seek entry on a ‘small boat’ from even applying to stay.
This is part of a global trend, whereby ‘centrist’ parties respond to the rise of right-wing political forces by moving to the right themselves at breakneck speed. Starmer hopes that by posturing as a mini-Trump on migration, he will stop the rise of Farage’s Reform. Instead, Reform is topping the polls, and Labour are fuelling the fires out of which Reform will grow more confident and vicious.
The entire political establishment in Britain, without exception, has adapted to the fundamental narrative of Farage on migration. Why therefore, after decades of crisis-ridden government by the two main parties, is it any surprise that Farage is the main political beneficiary of this shift? The trajectory of British politics, towards a scenario in which Reform has the profile of the main opposition, against a Labour government and a Trumpian Tory party in the doldrums, has become truly dangerous.
For a new, anti-war, left party – no to both Starmer and Farage
The rise of Trumpism in Britain can only be addressed by the building of a new political alternative, a real pro-working class opposition to the political establishment. A new left party must be urgently built which boldly opposes not only Farage and Reform, but also the Labour government and the discredited political ‘centre’ which it embodies.
Socialist Alternative has called on Jeremy Corbyn to prepare a conference of working-class activists to discuss the formation of such a party. With a combative strategy to build its forces in working class communities, and a programme which presents a real alternative to right-wing policies, such a party would grow quickly and could radically alter the political landscape.
In February, Starmer’s leadership refused to readmit three of the Labour MPs – John McDonnell, Zarah Sultana and Apsana Begum – who were suspended from the party for the ‘crime’ of voting to remove the draconian two-child benefit cap. Trying to cling to the sinking ship of Starmer’s Labour in the hope of being readmitted is a road to nowhere. These MPs should instead join together with Corbyn and the alliance of anti-war independent MPs and lead the formation of a new party, bringing together trade unionists, anti-war campaigners and fighters from different progressive social movements.
This necessary move would only be a first step, in a race against time to build a powerful voice for working class people and push back against the rise of the reactionary right. Trumpism represents capitalism in decay. A socialist alternative of revolutionary change, which takes power from the hands of the parasitic billionaire elite and puts people and the planet’s needs at the centre of a democratically planned economy, is ultimately the only effective antidote. If you agree, join Socialist Alternative today.
