Keir Starmer has spoken about his good relationship with the US president, Donald Trump, and their shared family values.
To mark the first anniversary of the Labour government coming to power on Friday, the prime minister spoke to the BBC podcast Political Thinking and said it was “in the national interest” for the two men to connect.
“We are different people and we’ve got different political backgrounds and leanings, but we do have a good relationship and that comes from a number of places,” he said.
“I think I do understand what anchors the president, what he really cares about. For both of us, we really care about family and there’s a point of connection there.”
In the interview, Starmer said he had a “good personal relationship” with Trump, and revealed that the first time they spoke was after the then-presidential candidate was shot at during a campaign rally in July last year.
He said Trump had reciprocated with a personal phone call a few days after Starmer’s brother Nick died on Boxing Day.
Addressing recent political turmoil, Starmer said he would always “carry the can” as leader after coming under fire over a climbdown on welfare reforms and that he would “always take responsibility” when asked questions.
“When things go well … the leader gets the plaudits, but when things don’t go well, it is really important that the leader carries the can – and that’s what I will always do.”
Starmer also backed Rachel Reeves and said she would be chancellor “for a very long time to come”, after she was visibly tearful in the House of Commons.
The scenes came after the government U-turned on planned welfare changes that put an almost £5bn hole in the chancellor’s plans.
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Reeves said she had been upset by a “personal matter” before prime minister’s questions on Wednesday.
Appearing on broadcast media on Friday, one year to the day since the 2024 general election, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, was asked on BBC Breakfast to score the government out of 10. “I don’t think it is for cabinet ministers to mark themselves and mark their own homework,” she said.