Starmer’s ‘Coalition of the (Un)Willing’ Collapses as Labour’s Ukraine Plan Explodes – Guido Fawkes

Starmer’s ‘Coalition of the (Un)Willing’ Collapses as Labour’s Ukraine Plan Explodes

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Only a matter of weeks ago – fizzing with excitement after Keir Starmer’s Oval Office charm-fest – lobby journalists and assorted insiders were heaping praise on the Prime Minister for his “global leadership” on Ukraine. Some absurd Labour briefings and comment pieces compared it to Thatcher’s ‘Falklands moment’…

Before the month is out, Starmer’s Ukraine peace plan (put together with Chequers best buddy Emmanuel Macron) has fallen apart in dramatic fashion. As the FT puts it this morning: “Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s prime minister, is turning towards air and sea support to defend Ukraine, a shift from his previous focus on European “boots on the ground” to secure any peace deal with Russia.” The FT gives a generous gloss to the Government, swallowing the No10 line that Starmer had a ‘change of heart’…

As Bloomberg reported overnight:

“While the UK had previously sought to build what it called a “reassurance force” of some 30,000 European troops to be stationed in Ukraine after the end of the war, the number was now likely to be lower, people familiar with the matter said. Only the UK and France have publicly committed to sending troops to Ukraine so far, and some European leaders such as Italy’s Giorgia Meloni have opposed the idea of putting “boots on the ground.” Most other countries involved in the talks have instead offered military assets or troops to backfill other parts of NATO that are willing to provide soldiers, the people familiar said.”

It now looks increasingly unlikely that the Starmer plan will end up happening at all – with UK forces part of a European ‘backstop’ at most, rather than actually on the ground in Ukraine. The direction is being set by Trump – who is speaking directly to Putin in a bilateral channel that does not include the Europeans or the UK. Starmer is looking more like one of the Chuckle Brothers than Churchill…