JD Vance warns ‘something is very broken about British politics’ | Politics | News
JD Vance says Britain ‘has long been failed by its leadership’ (Image: Getty)
J.D. Vance declared that Britain was “great” but had “long failed in terms of its leadership.” The US vice-president said the loss of prime ministers in recent years showed “something is very broken in British politics and people are crying out for really significant structural change”.
Mr Vance acknowledged his comments may have been “provocative” but insisted they were made “from a perspective of love and admiration”. He said he did not know Andy Burnham, Sir Keir Starmer’s likely successor, but said the US would work “as successfully as we can” whoever is leader.
Andy Burnham looks set to enter 10 Downing Street in a few weeks (Image: Getty)
Mr Vance, whose wife Usha studied at Cambridge University, told The Sunday Times: “I have a special affection for Britain.
“To be honest, I think I care about it as much as I do because of mutual interests and American alliances, but also because Britain is more culturally familiar to me than any other country outside my own.”
He added: “I see six prime ministers in the last few years.
“What this tells me is that something is very broken in British politics and people are really crying out for serious structural change.
“I hope Andy Burnham – but not Andy Burnham, but someone else – can do it. Because Britain is a beautiful country, a wonderful place.”
But he said the country “has long been failed by its leadership.”
About Sir Keir’s possible successor Donald Trump Mr Vance, branded “extremely liberal”, said: “I don’t know much about Andy Burnham.
“Obviously the UK is one of our closest and most important allies. So whoever becomes prime minister, we will work with them and we will work as successfully as we can.”
The vice president had previously sparked controversy with his statements regarding the United Kingdom.
Last month Mr Vance said there should be “righteous anger” in response to the murder of student Henry Nowak in Southampton, blaming it on “the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of immigrants”.
The US State Department, headed by Marco Rubio, had also linked “two tiers of policing” to Mr Nowak’s death, but this was rejected by Downing Street.
Weeks earlier, Mr Vance had urged anti-immigration protesters in the UK to “keep going” and urged Britain to follow America in protecting its borders.
“It is from a perspective of love and admiration that the President or I or Secretary Rubio go into European institutions and encourage people to be better,” Mr. Vance said.
“Even though sometimes what we say is provocative.”
