The prime minister has rejected any suggestion that the UK must choose between closer ties with the US or the European Union, when Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Sir Keir Starmer said his government would “never turn away” from its partnership with the US, and also promised to build stronger bonds with Europe.
He also stressed the world faced “dangerous times”, saying stability was essential for growth, so the UK must continue to back Ukraine against Russia “as an erratic, increasingly desperate aggressor”.
He added: “There is no growth without security – and no security without alliances.”
Speaking at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London’s Guildhall, an annual event held by the City of London Corporation and where the PM traditionally speaks on international issues, Starmer set out how the UK would now “stand tall on the world stage”.
“Against the backdrop of these dangerous times, the idea that we must choose between our allies, that somehow we’re with either America or Europe, is plain wrong,” he said.
“I reject it utterly. Attlee did not choose between allies. Churchill did not choose.
“The national interest demands that we work with both.”
There’s long been speculation US president-elect Donald Trump may launch a trade war against Europe and reduce support for Ukraine, even Nato.
In such circumstances, analysts suggest Britain would come under pressure from the US and Europe to take sides.
Earlier this month, a senior economic adviser to Trump urged the UK to align itself with the US on trade, rather than pursue closer ties with the EU.
Stephen Moore suggested the US would be “less interested” in a free trade deal with Britain if the government put its economic relations with Brussels ahead of those with Washington.
A former UK ambassador to the US, Sir David Manning, told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme that Trump has signalled he will have “a different sort of relationship with Europe”.
“It’s going to be a question of steering out interests between these two poles.”
But he said it was “no good pretending to see eye to eye” on issues such as Ukraine and the Middle East, and the UK will have to “engage” and respond to what Trump imposes.