Why wars are bad news for the 'special relationship'

Nothing puts the so-called "special relationship" between the UK and the United States under strain like the Americans going to war.

At Prime Minister's Questions, after Donald Trump's "no Churchill" jibe, Sir Keir Starmer insisted the relationship was still alive and well. He was challenged by a Conservative MP, Gareth Bacon, on whether his "dithering" had made the special relationship stronger or weaker.

Politics Hub: Follow the latest updates The prime minister was probably expecting Kemi Badenoch to punch the bruise of the president's brutal tirade against him in the Oval Office. But, inexplicably, she didn't, instead making a rather silly joke about "a sea of orcs and goons" - a reference to Lord Of The Rings - on the Labour back benches.

So the PM was probably more than happy to get the chance to sound all statesmanlike and answer Mr Bacon with a powerful defence of the special relationship. And, for good measure, he took the opportunity to deliver a subtle but effective riposte to the mercurial and erratic president's "Churchill" onslaught.

"American planes are operating out of British bases," said the PM. "That's the special relationship in action.

"British jets are shooting down drones and missiles to protect American lives in the Middle East on our joint bases. That's the special relationship in action.

"Sharing intelligence every day to keep our people safe. That's the special relationship in action." And then came a withering put-down.

"Hanging on to President Trump's latest words is not the special relationship in action," he concluded. Note that the PM said the president's "latest words".

After all, President Trump has changed his mind on the controversial Chagos deal several times. It's fair to say that never has a British prime minister faced such a tough challenge in maintaining the "special relationship" with a US president as Sir Keir has over the past year.

In his Oval Office salvo against the prime minister, the president said Sir Keir had been "very, very unco-operative" by initially refusing to allow the US to use the Diego Garcia base on the Chagos Islands. He didn't mention it, but no doubt the president was also irked this week by Sir Keir's dismissal in the Commons on Monday of "regime change from the skies".

???? Follow Trump100 on your podcast app ???? In times of war, disputes between US presidents and British prime ministers don't just happen between Republican presidents and Labour PMs or Democrats and Conservatives. And it's not always rosy between prime ministers and presidents of the two sister parties.

There have been big fallings out: over Suez, Vietnam and the Caribbean island of Grenada. It was Winston Churchill himself who first used the phrase "special relationship.