Prime Minister Keir Starmer will give a major speech today less than 24 hours after US President Donald Trump unleashed damaging tariffs on Britain and the rest of the world
Keir Starmer will give a major speech today less than 24 hours after Donald Trump unleashed damaging tariffs on the UK.
The PM, who launch Labour’s local election campaign today, will answer questions from journalists as part of the event. It is expected he will be grilled on Mr Trump’s announcement to slap a 10% US tariff on all British imports.
Mr Starmer will be joined by Deputy PM Angela Rayner and Party Chair Ellie Reeves in the Midlands, where they will promise to “bring change to Britain” ahead of its first major test at the ballot box since entering office. They will ask the public “to play their part in delivering the renewal the country needs” by backing its candidates at the polls on May 1.
But the uplifting speech is likely to be overshadowed after the US President last night imposed major tariffs on countries around the world. The move could trigger a global recession, threatening Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s progress on fixing the economy.
The Prime Minister said the UK would keep “a cool head” as he gathered business leaders in Downing Street for an early morning meeting. He said that “clearly” there will be an economic hit from the tariffs – but added: “I want to be crystal clear – we are prepared. Indeed, one of the great strengths of this nation is our ability to keep a cool head.” The UK is continuing to negotiate with the US on securing an economic deal which could hopefully see tariffs eased.
On Wednesday night, Mr Trump slapped 10% tariffs on imports of British goods as he declared war on “foreign cheaters” with trade levies on countries around the world. The US President ranted against nations who he claimed had “ripped off” US taxpayers, saying: “Our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered”. In a move that will risks sparking a global trade war, Mr Trump signed an executive order imposing “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries.
These included 20% on the EU, 34% on China, 26% on India and 49% on Cambodia. Britain escaped the worst of his wrath, receiving the baseline level tariff of 10%, which comes into force at 5am on Saturday. A 25% tariff will also be imposed on all foreign cars imported to the US from 5am today – which experts fear could cost 25,000 jobs in the British car industry.
The PM will today aim to turn his attention to domestic issues. Labour is focusing its opening pitch for the local elections on healthcare, pointing to “swift action” taken by the Government to end planned doctors’ strikes by offering an improved pay rise after entering office.
The party says the negotiation of a deal early on has helped spare disruption to hundreds of thousands of appointments, basing that claim on NHS data suggesting 507,000 cancellations occurred between July 2023 and last March during periods of industrial action under the last government.
Labour says more than two million extra appointments have been delivered since its election win, with almost 2.2 million more elective care appointments in July and November last year compared to the same period in 2023.
The local polls – and a by-election in the Runcorn and Helsby seat vacated by ex-Labour MP Mike Amesbury – will be the first big electoral test for Mr Starmer since last July’s general election, giving a sense of where parties stand nationally. Ballots will be held for 23 councils and six mayoralties in England.