Starmer to meet Trump to discuss Gaza and trade, as minister suggests UK could recognize Palestinian state

Starmer to meet Trump to discuss Gaza and trade, as minister suggests UK could recognise Palestinian state by next election

Good morning. Keir Starmer has a lead role in the Trump show today. He is flying to Scotland for a meeting with the US president, who is combining a golfing holiday with meetings with leaders like Starmer, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister.

The von der Leyen talks culminated in the announcement of what Trump described as a “powerful” trade deal (albeit one that only means the Trump tariffs won’t damage US-EU trade as much as they otherwise might have done; it is not an improvement on the status quo ante.)

Starmer plans to spend a lot of time with Trump today. He will arrive before lunch and won't fly back to London until tonight, after what No. 10 describes as a "private engagement" (a dinner?) at Trump's golf course in Aberdeenshire. There is a bilateral meeting scheduled, but Trump doesn't like long meetings, and Downing Street hasn't said much about what else the two will do. Starmer has reportedly been thinking about how to respond if Trump invites him to play a round of golf. According to my colleague Eleni Courea, covering the trip from Scotland, that's one humiliation Trump won't inflict on the prime minister, who is a fine footballer but a complete novice at Trump's favorite sport. But Starmer will also fly to Aberdeen with the president on Air Force One, we hope. In White House terms, it's a mark of respect. Normally, when political leaders meet, they speak to the press afterward to report on what was agreed upon. Today, Trump and Starmer will hold their main press event ahead of their talks, so we don't expect them to announce anything substantial for now. Instead, we could see Trump simply giving us one of his self-styled monologue performances. During his time in Scotland, these have included rants about European immigration ("This horrible invasion that's happening in Europe has to be stopped; immigration is killing Europe") and wind turbines ("When they start rusting and rotting in eight years, you won't be able to turn them off, you won't be able to burn them; it's all a scam"). At one point, Trump and Starmer were expected to use today's meeting to tie up loose ends in the US-UK trade deal, particularly regarding steel tariffs. However, Jonathan Reynolds, the trade secretary, has been giving interviews this morning and stated on the Today programme that he was "not expecting any announcements from this visit" on trade.

Instead, the situation in Gaza could be the focus of the talks between Trump and Starmer, and, as Pippa Crerar reports, Starmer will urge Trump to use his influence with Israel to get Benjamin Netanyahu to resume peace talks with Hamas. This is a complex issue for Starmer, as the prime minister is under increasing pressure from members of his own cabinet to recognize the State of Palestine. Doing so would infuriate Trump, who, in the Israeli view, would amount to rewarding Hamas for the October 7 attack. And it would have no immediate practical impact on the situation in Gaza. However, Labour MPs are increasingly agreeing with the view that, as Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, put it, it is better to recognize the State of Palestine "while there is still a State of Palestine to recognize." As Mark Malloch Brown, former UN deputy secretary-general and minister in Gordon Brown's government, told the Observer yesterday, recognition would also send the message to Israel that "you can't bomb your way out of the reality that you're going to have to negotiate with the Palestinians." In interviews this morning, Reynolds stated that the UK was committed to recognizing the State of Palestine; it was only a matter of time, he said.

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain: "It's a question of when, not if. It's about how we use this moment, because you can only do it once to make significant progress."

And on Sky News, he went further, hinting that he hopes recognition will come during this parliament. In this parliament, yes. That is, if the progress we need is achieved. But don't forget, we can only do it once. If we do it symbolically and it doesn't end this conflict, what will we do now?

Here's the day's agenda. Tomorrow: Chancellor Rachel Reeves is visiting Bournemouth. 11:00: Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, holds a press conference with a special guest. According to the Daily Mail, it's Colin Sutton, a former detective chief inspector, who is joining the party as a crime advisor.

11:30 a.m.: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing. Around noon: Keir Starmer is scheduled to arrive at President Trump's Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire, Scotland, where the two leaders are scheduled to speak to the media around 12:30 p.m. They will hold a formal meeting in the afternoon before flying to Aberdeen, where Trump owns another golf course and where they are expected to hold a private dinner. Around lunchtime: Kemi Badenoch is scheduled to record a video for the media.

Afternoon: The Stop Trump Coalition holds a protest outside Trump's golf course in Aberdeenshire. Late afternoon: Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner hosts a reception for the Lionesses following their victory in the 2025 European Women's Championship. Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary David Lammy is in New York for a meeting on a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.