Sixty-three years after Dean Acheson famously said that Britain had lost an empire but not yet found a role, it has finally done so – and in Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer the right man to fill it.
Starmer’s skilful and well-prepared diplomacy on his visit to the White House last Thursday to discuss peace-making in the Ukraine War ensured that what could easily have been a disappointing failure was in fact a success to build on.
His gathering together of European and NATO leaders, including Canada, in London on Sunday was all he could have hoped for – a solid start to the process of re-building bridges between Ukraine, Europe and US President Donald Trump.
To millions around the world watching the drama unfold over those days in the Oval Office and Lancaster House in London it gave hope that a lasting peace – but not surrender to the Russian aggressor – could be brought to Ukraine.
Starmer entered last week as a politician and emerged as a statesman. He was clearly the man in the main leadership role on Sunday, partly because of his position as convenor and host of the summit meeting. His recent announcement of increased defence spending, his new multi-billion aid packages for Ukraine and his pledge of peace-keeping boots on the ground when the time comes are also significant factors. Most of all he impressed with his calm, authoritative manner.
Partnership with France
French President Emmanuel Macron has also played a significant leadership role in the drama of recent days and promises to be an equal partner with Starmer in facing Europe’s defence and security challenges of the coming months and years.
Which other European countries will step up in face of Russian aggression remains to be seen. Starmer seems confident that a number will do so but is very reasonably letting them make their own announcements.
The big question mark is over Germany, Europe’s largest economy, which for understandable reasons has been reluctant to play an active military role in world affairs since the Second World War, for which it was responsible.
Today, following its recent general election, Germany is engaged in coalition negotiations between its centre-right and centre-left parties to form a new government which will probably face disruption by a disgruntled far-right Alternative für Deutschland party which, with 20.8% of the vote, will be the official opposition.
Germany also faces a fiscal problem in raising defence spending as the country has a constitution which places a brake on borrowing.
Starmer, it might be objected, has not achieved greatness as a leader but has had it thrust upon him. There is some truth in this. Neither he nor Macron chose to have to take principal responsibility for the defence of Ukraine and Europe; it has been forced upon them by Trump’s openly hostile approach to Europe (in trade as well as defence) and sympathetic view of Russian dictator-president Vladimir Putin. Nevertheless, both Starmer and Macron, to their credit, show every sign of rising to the challenge.
As my colleague David Taylor-Gooby wrote on 26 February: “Keir Starmer faces a real challenge. He has to manage an unexpected financial challenge and a political one of trying to secure American support for peacekeeping. He needs our support for this.”
Leadership failures
Acheson, America’s Secretary of State under President Harry Truman between 1949 and 1953, in his speech referred to above, was referring to the independence that many countries of the British Empire, now the Commonwealth, had achieved or were soon to, around that time.
The UK has made several attempts since then to find a new role, but all have eventually failed. It first applied to join the Common Market in 1961 but French President General Charles de Gaulle vetoed the application twice, in 1963 and 1967.
When the UK was finally admitted, in 1973 under Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath it was soon playing a leading role as one of the big three, alongside France and Germany, including under Margaret Thatcher. But that did not last long; by the end of the 1980s some Conservatives were campaigning for withdrawal. They got their way in the disastrous Brexit vote of 2016.
Prime Minister Tony Blair sought a world-leading role for the UK alongside US President George Bush but became bogged down in disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Since then, under 14 years of Conservative rule until 2024, British governments have been reduced to managing decline, with austerity and cuts to public services matched by reductions in our armed forces. Restoring both those together will require sacrifices from us all.
But we cannot just wait till the end of the Trump presidency and hope that all will be well. Even if Putin does not strike again in Ukraine or elsewhere in Europe before then, and even if Trump does not find a way of securing a third term, America’s long-term attention is switching from Europe to China and the Far East. Whatever happens, Britain and Europe are soon going to have to ensure they can defend themselves. It’s a challenging new role for Britain, and Starmer is making a start.
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