UK grand strategy faces formidable post-Brexit test

UK PRIME Minister Keir Starmer has been boosted by US President Donald Trump’s assertion that London may be spared US trade tariffs, unlike the European Union. However, the UK’s grand strategy may still be facing, in 2025, its toughest test of the post-Brexit period.

At the heart of this dilemma is the Starmer government’s attempt to answer one of the fundamental questions unresolved since the UK’s 2016 EU referendum. That is, what kind of country the United Kingdom wants to be as it moves into the second quarter of the 21st century.

The two pillars of UK foreign policy in the post-1945 period – its US and European alliances – are in flux. Starmer is misaligned with Trump on multiple key issues – from climate change to those on security, such as the future of the US-UK military base on the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean. It is expected that Starmer will visit Washington for talks with Trump within weeks, when these and other challenges will be discussed.