Sir Keir Starmer is still waiting to receive a phone call with Donald Trump following the 47th President’s inauguration on Monday.
Trump, who finally returned to the Oval Office after his thumping victory in November, has already reached out to a number of global leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, El Salvador leader Nayib Bukele and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Prime Minister’s deputy official spokesman appeared to issue a plea for Trump to call Starmer ahead of an expected visit to Washington.
He said: “The Prime Minister would welcome the opportunity to speak to President Trump at the earliest opportunity and they had a productive meeting in September and subsequent positive phone calls in recent months and he looks forward to speaking to him soon.”
When challenged on whether it was unusual that no phone call had taken place, the deputy official spokesman replied: “I wouldn’t accept that characterisation.
Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden spoke to then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson just three days after his 2021 inauguration.
Theresa May also jetted out to Washington within a week of Trump’s first stint in the White House in 2017, becoming the first world leader to meet the then-45th President.
However, Starmer last saw Trump for a three-hour dinner alongside Foreign Secretary David Lammy in September.
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Despite the pair calling on December 18, much has been made of the fractured relationship between Trump and Starmer’s Labour.
Lammy is among senior Cabinet figures to have significantly shifted his stance on Trump.
Having previously labelled the President a “neo-Nazi”, Lammy is now hoping to forge close ties with Trump and his Vice President JD Vance.
Trump’s allies have also suggested that the 47th President’s team could look to block Starmer’s US Ambassador pick Lord Peter Mandelson.
The rift comes after Labour staffers also attempted to help Kamala Harris campaign against Trump in key swing states.
Despite their efforts, Trump won the election and filed a complaint to the Federal Electoral Commission.
Lord Glasman, who was the only Labour figure invited to Trump’s inauguration, detailed some of the challenges facing the Prime Minister.
He told PoliticsHome: “I’m obviously trying to communicate with them as best I can.
“I’m not expecting them to do cartwheels when the Prime Minister wasn’t invited, the Foreign Secretary wasn’t.
“It’s a difficult moment for them, and I’m just doing my best to represent Labour and the Government in the way that I can… They want an alliance with the UK, à la Churchill or Thatcher… They are looking for the government to be their partner, but they don’t see any indication that they are.”
