Why Britain’s Keir Starmer is ‘fed up’ with Trump, Putin
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer lashed out at President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin over rising energy prices in his country related to recent wars.
“I’m fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy, businesses’ bills go up and down on energy, because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world,” Starmer said on the ITV News “Talking Politics” podcast.
He was referring to the recent U.S. war with Iran, which led the Iranians to block the Strait of Hormuz. Roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply is shipped through the Strait. Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the continuing war also disrupted natural gas supplies and drove up prices across Europe.
Uncertainty over Strait
Starmer’s comments came amid uncertainty about the status of the Strait of Hormuz despite this week’s announced ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
Only a handful of ships — and, possibly, no tankers — have passed through the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Reopening the Strait was a condition Trump demanded when he called off a planned assault that he said would destroy the Iranian civilization.
“Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote Thursday on Truth Social. “That is not the agreement we have!“
Starmer told ITV’s Robert Preston that what happens with the Strait is a major test for the ceasefire.
“Our position is ‘open means open’ for safe navigation,” he said. “That means toll-free navigation and vessels can get through.”
The world, he said, will have to “wait and see” whether the Strait fully reopens.
“Some of the discussions in the last couple of days have been, let’s see what happens in two, three, four days,” Starmer said. “That’ll begin to be the test. So it’s not what people say on day one or day two.”
Regardless, he blamed both Trump and Putin for the volatility in energy prices.
“The impact on our economy … is clear to see,” he said.
Trump has said he was “disappointed” in Starmer after the British leader refused to allow the U.S. military to launch attacks on Iran from bases in the U.K.
In an email to CNBC, the White House did not directly respond to Starmer’s criticism in the ITV interview.
“Many world leaders have spent decades talking about the threat posed by Iran, but doing nothing about it,” spokesperson Anna Kelly wrote. “President Trump took courageous action to ensure Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon, and as he said, we are far along with a definitive agreement to deliver lasting peace.”
‘A matter of principles’
In the interview, Starmer also called on Israel to end its attacks on Lebanon, where it has targeted Hezbollah strongholds but also killed civilians.
Ending the fighting in Lebanon should be part of any ceasefire involving Iran, he said. Israel and the U.S. say Lebanon was not part of the initial ceasefire deal — a contention that Iran disputes.
“But let me be really clear about it: They’re wrong,” Starmer said of Israel’s strikes in Lebanon. “That shouldn’t be happening. That should stop.”
“The question isn’t a technical one of whether it’s a breach of the agreement or not,” he added. “The question is actually a matter of principles.”
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
