British Prime Minister Keir Starmer came out swinging at Prime Minister’s Questions this week, blasting his opponents for questioning his posture on unrest in the Middle East.
Fresh off the indignity of President Donald Trump dismissing him as “not Winston Churchill,” Starmer hammered home to members of Parliament that the “special relationship” between the United States and Britain is one of cooperation, not strong-arming.
“British jets are shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives in the Middle East on our joint bases. That is the special relationship in action. Sharing intelligence every day to keep our people safe. That is the special relationship in action,” Starmer told the MPs. “Hanging on to President Trump’s latest words is not the special relationship in action.”
Starmer on Sunday allowed the U.S. to utilize British bases in operations aiming to “eliminate the urgent threat” of Iranian strikes in neighboring countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and more.
Trump has loudly criticized Starmer for failing to approve U.S. military use of British bases for “Operation Epic Fury” over the weekend quickly enough, accusing the prime minister of indecision and acting slowly.
These criticisms have been echoed by his critics on the right-wing, who have decried the British government’s response to Iranian counterattacks across the Middle East as sluggish and meandering.
The British government is preparing to deploy a warship, the HMS Dragon, to defend its base in Cyprus — but that vessel is not expected to mobilize from its dock in Portsmouth until next week.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch grilled the prime minister on Wednesday for his lack of follow-through in deploying the Royal Air Force, accusing him of “catching arrows instead of stopping the archer” despite the fact that British “bases have already been attacked.”
“He doesn’t understand his [own] policy — he has a sea of orcs and goons who have no idea how anything is working at all,” the Conservative leader complained, eliciting jeers from Labour.
“The situation in Iran shows this prime minister has the wrong priorities,” she asserted. “When it comes to defense, it’s someone else’s job — when it comes to welfare, they find the money. When our bases are attacked, they call the lawyers. When our energy security is under threat, they stop drilling in the North Sea.”
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Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, has also taken shots at Starmer on social media and in media appearances since Operation Epic Fury — agreeing with Trump’s criticisms.
“To say [Starmer] is no Churchill is quite an understatement really,” Farage said on Wednesday. “The man is dithered. He’s all over the place. He’s not a leader, he’s a follower. His performance has been abject over the last few days — added to which, we haven’t even got a Royal Navy that is serviceable anymore.”
