UK must not respond to every Donald Trump 'twist and turn', says key Sir Keir Starmer ally

Pat McFadden said the UK government would have to “step back” and look at what was in the interests of the British people, rather than reacting to every comment or statement.

Sir Keir will travel to Washington next week amid a growing rift between the US president and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, whom Mr Trump has labelled a “dictator”.

Mr McFadden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said it was clear Europe must “do more” to contribute to its own defence and the UK must play a leading role in the change. He said the UK had an advantage as “we have a newly elected stable centre-left government for the next four years”.

Speaking at a Labour Friends of Scotland fringe event at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Friday, Mr McFadden added: "This is not true everywhere, and so people know what they're going to be dealing with and who they’re going to be dealing with in the UK over the next few years. And therefore, I think the Prime Minister's trip to the United States next week is really important.

"And I think we're going to have to, to some extent, not chase every comment, every statement. A lot of the interviews for any government minister at the moment are 'so and so has just said x - what's your response?'

"It's fair enough on one level, but we actually can't conduct policy like that. We're going to have to take a step back from that and look at what is in the interests of our own people here.

"It's in the interests of our own people to maintain a good and constructive relationship with the United States administration, and also to play a leading role in the change response that's going to have to come in Europe on that."

The Wolverhampton South East MP, who was born and raised in Glasgow, said the UK was “potentially in a good position in this situation, if we handle it correctly”.

He said: “Handling it correctly doesn't mean following every twist and turn of every comment, but is focusing on what will actually happen as well as what was said."

Mr McFadden said Labour ministers had "responded in that fashion in the last few weeks" and the "tone comes from the top", adding: “This is a big moment for us.”

He said the partnership between the UK and the US on defence, on intelligence and security “is absolutely vital, and it's in our interests”, adding: “We want to work with the American administration to maintain that for the future.”

Elsewhere, Ms McFadden spoke about the coming 2026 Scottish Parliament election, stressing the need to “make the most of the potential partnership” there could be between Labour governments at Holyrood and Westminster.

He said: “There is a need for change in how the state works. People have to get more bang for their buck. The issues of NHS waiting lists, the issues of educational outcomes, the issues of the look and feel of the streets of a city like Glasgow.”