When President Trump arrives at Windsor Castle on Wednesday morning for his state visit there will be no complaints from the Conservatives, the country’s traditional center-right party. Nigel Farage, the right-wing populist leader of Reform U.K., will surely rejoice at the presence of Mr. Trump, an ally on British soil.
And although polling suggests that the U.S. president is unpopular with a majority of the British public, even Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose center-left Labour Party is the country’s equivalent of the Democrats, is more likely to roll out the red carpet than even whisper a criticism about the president. His diplomatic strategy since Mr. Trump took office has been to woo him with praise and deference.
Of the leaders of the three parties with the highest number of lawmakers in Parliament, only one is prepared to openly criticize Mr. Trump. Ed Davey, of the centrist Liberal Democrats, will record his dissatisfaction with the president by refusing to attend a state dinner hosted on Wednesday by King Charles III.
“I personally do not think he represents the best of American values,” Mr. Davey said in a recent interview, where he accused Mr. Trump of undermining the close relationship between Britain and the United States. “He certainly doesn’t share the values that I felt have been at the base of that special relationship.”
Mr. Davey has called Mr. Trump a “bully” and a “threat to peace and prosperity.” He says the American president is the instigator of a “destructive trade war” causing economic pain for British citizens. And he accuses Mr. Trump of “betraying Ukraine,” saying: “It’s not only their sovereignty he’s selling out. It’s our security. The security of Europe and the security of our United Kingdom.”
He said his decision to skip the banquet was a difficult one because of his respect for the country’s top royal. He and his wife, Emily, who are Christian, prayed about it, he said when he announced the decision, noting, “There is no honor like an invitation from the king.”
But Mr. Davey said he wanted to send a message to Mr. Trump about the need to end the war in Gaza by putting pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
“It is clear, it’s always been clear, that Trump could end it, and I don’t think he’s put under any scrutiny whatsoever,” he said.
Mr. Davey’s willingness to call out Mr. Trump makes him a lonely voice among Britain’s leading politicians, even though the Labour Party, which is on the left of the Liberal Democrats, won power last year after 14 years of Conservative rule.
Mr. Starmer, a former human rights lawyer, might have seemed destined to clash with Mr. Trump. But the prime minister has chosen a different path.
During his first meeting with the U.S. leader in the Oval Office in February, Mr. Starmer waved aside a question on Mr. Trump’s musings about annexing Canada, saying, “I think you’re trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t exist.”
On that same occasion, Mr. Starmer delivered an invitation for Mr. Trump to make his second state visit to Britain. The first was in 2019.
Later, the prime minister said of the U.S. president: “I like and respect him. I understand what he’s trying to achieve.” Mr. Trump told reporters that he and Mr. Starmer had “become friends in a short period of time.”
All of which annoys Mr. Davey to no end.
He said Mr. Starmer was being too soft on the president, especially over Gaza. Mr. Davey also accused Mr. Starmer of not working hard enough to rebuild ties to Europe so that Britain would no longer be so dependent on the United States.
“He’s done a bit of that, but it’s pretty weak,” Mr. Davey said of the prime minister. “He hasn’t, in my view, had the political courage.”
In Britain, a new, fierce multi-way competition among the political parties, including Reform U.K., which is leading in the polls, has weakened Mr. Starmer’s position. The country’s stuttering economy has underscored the importance of its relationship with America, a key trade partner. The constant ego stroking appeared to work when Mr. Trump agreed to a trade deal that imposed lower tariffs than those for the European Union or other countries.
Mr. Farage, who campaigned for Britain to leave the European Union in 2016, has in many ways fashioned himself in Mr. Trump’s image. He vigorously denounces migrants and has pledged mass deportations. He has echoed Mr. Trump’s populist speech and, in the past, has praised Vladimir V. Putin, the president of Russia. In early September, Mr. Farage shared a photo of himself in the Oval Office with a grinning Mr. Trump.
Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservatives, has urged her colleagues to follow in Mr. Trump’s footsteps on issues like climate change, immigration and free speech as she tries to help the party reclaim relevance.
“Take a look at President Trump,” she said in a speech in February. “He’s shown that sometimes you need that first stint in government to spot the problems, but it’s the second time around when you really know how to fix them.”
The support for the president by Mr. Farage and Ms. Badenoch is hardly surprising. And Mr. Davey said that in some ways, his decision not to attend the state dinner was not aimed directly at Mr. Trump.
“I’m humble enough and realistic enough to know that Donald Trump doesn’t give a monkey about what the leader of the British Liberal Democrats says,” Mr. Davey said. “It wasn’t really a message to him. It was much more a message to Starmer.”
Michael D. Shear is a senior Times correspondent covering British politics and culture, and diplomacy around the world.
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