Keir Starmer takes centre stage in Washington as Nato assesses global threats

Intrigue builds ahead of visit by Britain's new Prime Minister

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria board a plane at Stansted Airport as they head to Washington to attend the Nato summit. PA

If a week is a long time in politics, July might feel like an aeon for Keir Starmer.

Following the Labour Party’s landslide election victory last week, Britain’s new Prime Minister will be in the spotlight on Wednesday for his first foray on to the global stage.

Mr Starmer’s visit to the Nato summit in Washington has generated more buzz in the US capital than recent visits by British leaders, after Brexit, aid cuts and successive domestic crises under the Conservative Party saw the UK’s international relevance shrink.

A sense of intrigue has sprung up in Washington over Mr Starmer, whose victory runs counter to a narrative that far-right populism is surging across western Europe and in the US, where an embattled President Joe Biden appears increasingly likely to lose to Republican rival Donald Trump in November.

The Nato summit, which comes as the 32-member alliance marks its 75th anniversary, will also provide western leaders with an opportunity to assess how a Labour government may position itself on defence spending and support to Ukraine.

Mr Starmer “will be somebody who is very much in demand from our policymakers and other Nato leaders,” said Robin Quinville, a career US diplomat and Nato expert who now runs the Wilson Centre's Global Europe Programme.

“They're also going to be very interested in what a Labour government would do,” added Ms Quinville, who served primarily in Europe including a posting to Nato.

Mr Starmer’s has said his “first duty” is defence and security, and his government has pledged to conduct a full defence and security review to assess the most pressing challenges for the UK in an era of global instability.

“People are going to wonder … what does this mean for the capabilities that the UK fields. Not just for the size of your military forces, but the capabilities that you bring to the alliance and their investment in those capabilities,” Ms Quinville told The National.

During the election campaign, Labour stressed it would adopt fairly traditional security policies, with Mr Starmer saying he would use Britain's nuclear arsenal if he needed to.

Before departing for the US on Tuesday night, the Prime Minister said he would demonstrate Britain’s “unshakeable” support for Nato.

Similar statements are likely from other leaders, wary of a return of Trump, a Nato sceptic whose browbeating of countries not paying the agreed-upon 2 per cent of GDP towards defence has nonetheless helped see an increase in funding for the alliance.

Mr Starmer is also expected to stress his support for Ukraine, which has been given unprecedented Nato backing since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The Labour leader will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is pushing for Kyiv to be invited to join Nato, and a crucial outcome of the summit, which runs through Thursday, will be the extent to which the military alliance offers Ukraine a timetable to join.

The Biden administration has voiced concerns about corruption in Kyiv and has said Ukraine should be offered a “bridge to membership”, while Nato's departing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has gone further, saying Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to joining.

British Defence Secretary John Healey and Foreign Secretary David Lammy will be joining Mr Starmer in Washington.

Mr Healey and Mr Lammy wrote in The Telegraph on Monday that Britain would begin paying 2.5 per cent in Nato dues “as soon as possible” and urged all other members to do the same.

“We will have a 'Nato first' defence strategy. European security will be our foreign and defence priority,” the UK Cabinet members wrote.

Mr Healey has already visited Ukraine since the election, promising more artillery and shells, along with nearly 100 long-range Brimstone missiles.

Ukraine will no doubt be a key talking point when Mr Biden hosts Mr Starmer at the White House on Wednesday.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the leaders would also discuss other topics including Iran, reaching a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza and the threat of Yemen's Houthi rebels to commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The Nato summit is being held as domestic turmoil roils several member nations, including France and Germany, where President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz have been weakened by recent elections.

If Mr Starmer is feted as an optimistic fresh face, Mr Biden will no doubt hope some of that attention rubs off favourably on him. The 81-year-old President is trying to recover from a disastrous debate performance that highlighted what appears to be a significant cognitive decline.

The White House says he underperformed because of a cold, but several big-name Democrats want him to step aside.

Keir Starmer begins work as Prime Minister – in pictures

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer talks to journalists as he travels on-board a plane to Washington to attend a Nato summit. Getty Images

Mr Starmer and his wife Victoria board the plane at Stansted Airport, north of London. AFP

Mr Starmer meets UK legislators from the Scottish Labour Party at 10 Downing Street. Bloomberg

Mr Starmer, centre front, stands with Labour Party MPs at Church House in Westminster, central London. PA

Mr Starmer and First Minister of Wales Vaughan Gething during a visit to the Senedd in Cardiff, Wales. Getty Images

Mr Starmer with First Minister of Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Emma Little-Pengelly at Stormont Castle, in Belfast. Reuters

Mr Starmer meets Scottish First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney during a visit to Edinburgh. Getty Images

Pro-Palestinian protesters surround the convoy carrying Mr Starmer as it leaves Bute House in Edinburgh. PA

Mr Starmer and Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar during an event in Edinburgh to welcome new Labour MPs in Scotland. PA

Mr Starmer delivers a news conference after his first cabinet meeting at Downing Street. EPA

Mr Starmer chairs his first meeting of the Cabinet in Downing Street. EPA

Mr Starmer walks up the steps inside 10 Downing Street. Photo: No 10 Downing Street

Mr Starmer speaks on the phone with US President Joe Biden from his office. Photo: No 10 Downing Street

Mr Starmer poses for his official portrait upon his appointment by King Charles III. Photo: No 10 Downing Street