Eye-opening data shows 15% of UK voters now view the US as an enemy, while just 43% believe Washington is an ally as alarm grows over Donald Trump’s swingeing tariffs
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“But despite this concern, most want to see the government stand up to the US: making concessions around chlorinated chicken or the war in Ukraine would be highly unpopular among voters – and more than half would support the UK retaliating against the US.
“For many Britons, ‘Liberation Day’ threatens to further deteriorate the already strained relationship between our two countries. Less than half of the British public now see the US as an ally. If there is a silver lining, it’s that the public finally feel they are seeing a dividend of Brexit – most Britons – including remain voters – think that the lower tariff is a benefit of leaving the EU.”
The polling of 2,058 adults, carried out between April 4 and 7, found 53% think tariffs will have a negative impact on the cost of living crisis. And nearly half – 49% – believe it will hamper economic growth in the UK.
Speaking to workers at the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Birmingham on Monday, Mr Starmer said: “Old assumptions that we’ve long taken for granted simply don’t apply any longer.” He said the US President’s measures are bad news for British business and would pose a “huge challenge”.
It came as the FTSE 100 plunged by 6% and markets across the world plummeted in response to Washington’s tariffs. The value of US stocks dropped sharply as markets opened, following falls in London and across Europe and Asia.
The US President refused to back down despite turmoil on Wall Street, urging Americans to “be strong, courageous and patient”, promising that “greatness will be the result”. Jaguar Land Rover has paused exports of its vehicles to the US as a result of the tariffs. The PM told workers: “Nobody is pretending that tariffs are good news. You know that better than anyone.
“25% tariffs on automative exports. 10% on other goods. That is a huge challenge to our future. The global economic consequences could be profound.”
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