UK watches as neck-and-neck US election set to influence Britain’s future

Sir Keir Starmer is looking “forward to working closely with whoever wins” the presidential election, despite senior members of the Labour party previously being heavily critical of Trump.
Millions of Americans are casting their votes on Tuesday to choose either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump as their next president.
The outcome of the election is set to have a deep influence on how Starmer’s government conducts itself on the world stage.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Foreign Secretary David Lammy were critical of Trump during his previous presidency, but now Labour insists that they will work “closely with whoever wins the election”.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “It’s obviously for the American people to decide who they want to be their president when they vote today.
“The UK and US share a special relationship, and we look forward to working closely with whoever wins the election. We look forward to further strengthening our close ties across all parts of the close relationship.”
On Tuesday, Streeting said the government “stands ready to work with whoever the American people choose”, despite saying Trump spouts “ugly populism” in 2017.
In the same year, Streeting also called Trump an “odious, sad little man” on X, writing “imagine being proud to have that as your President.”
When questioned by ITV News about his past comments, he said: “We can’t completely disavow or disregard things that we’ve said in the past, they’re there, they’re on the record.
“What we can do is make sure we support the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary in building the strongest possible relationship with President Trump or President Harris – whoever the American people choose”.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says the government will work closely with whoever wins the US election
David Lammy also said Trump was a “woman hating neo-Nazi” and a “profound threat to the national order” in 2018.
In October, the Trump-Vance team also filed a complaint against the Labour Party, claiming they have “interfered” in the US election.
Speaking exclusively to ITV News last week about this, Donald Trump Junior said the UK-US special relationship is “certainly not” off to a “great start” if his father wins the election.
An expert on US affairs claimed a Harris campaign win would be the favourable outcome for the UK, while under a second Trump presidency the UK would be faced with a “tougher ask”.
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The Republican candidate is likely to chart a new US course on major conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, areas where Starmer has largely followed the lead of US President Joe Biden.
Both Trump and Harris made their final campaign push with American voters in swing states such as Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania, where the race is expected to be close.
Under the US voting system, a total of 270 votes in what is known as the electoral college are needed to win the presidential election.
Harris narrowly leads Trump in the final prediction by YouGov ahead of the US election, with the pollster predicting she has 240 electoral votes, Trump 218, while a further 80 remain uncertain.
Key issues in the race include security on the US’ southern border with Mexico, abortion rights, and reducing inflation.
Want an expert briefing on US politics and the presidential race? Listen to our latest podcast Talking Politics USA