The United Kingdom’s relationship with the United States “will endure” no matter who is in office, the deputy prime minister has said.
Angela Rayner said the prime minister remains “laser-focused” on Ukraine and would not be “derailed” by announcements from the White House, following news that Donald Trump has ordered that all military aid be suspended to the war-torn Eastern European country.
The extraordinary move comes as the US administration seeks to pressure the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to agree to an unconditional ceasefire with Russia.
A White House official said late on Monday night: “President [Trump] has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well.
“We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
The deputy PM suggested the announcement reflects the “very serious moment” the world is in, adding: “I think the prime minister [Keir Starmer] has been very serious about the way he has conducted himself.”
Rayner told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “He’s laser-focused on getting peace.
“He won’t be derailed by announcements. He will continue that dialogue with our oldest and strongest ally, the US, and with European partners and with Ukraine.”
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JD Vance, the US vice president who clashed with Zelenskyy in the White House last week, piled further pressure on Ukraine in an interview overnight.
Speaking to Fox News, he said the Ukrainian president “showed a clear unwillingness to engage in the peace process” sought by Trump.
“But I think he’ll get there eventually”, the vice president said. “He has to.”
The military aid cuts follow a meeting between Trump and senior members of his administration including secretary of state Marco Rubio and defence secretary Pete Hegseth.
Asked if she was shocked by the Trump administration’s announcement on pausing military aid to Ukraine, Rayner said: “That is a matter for the US.”
She added: “We are focused on support for Ukraine, bringing the US around the table alongside our European partners in Ukraine.
“We’ve put our money where our mouth is and stepped up our support for Ukraine through air defence, through military capabilities and through the military aid we give year upon year.
“The prime minister will not conduct dialogue on open airwaves.”
Pressed on whether the government will regret “cosying up” to the US administration with the king’s offer of a unprecedented second state visit for Trump, Rayner reiterated that America is the UK’s “oldest ally”.
She said: “The US is our oldest ally, our military capabilities, our support, our trading partners — we are the closest [that] allies can be.
“So our relationship with the US is incredibly important and will continue, and it will endure, despite who may be in office at the time, and I think president Trump is absolutely of the same view.
“And the prime minister, I think, has done an excellent job of bringing people around the table. He won’t choose between the US and Europe that is not in British interest.
“He will continue to work to get that peace and those security guarantees for Ukraine, because that’s not just what Ukraine deserve a need, but it’s also about our long term security of our country as well.”
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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