Christmas may have passed for another year but the ghost of Love Actually lives on. One of the quintessential modern Christmas films, these days there is a lively debate as to how the film has aged over time. It even stretches to Westminster.
As Kemi Badenoch told me when I interviewed the Tory leader for The Spectator during the festive season, “there’s actually quite a lot of dark tones to Love Actually”.
Critics say the plot lines, rather than being just schmaltzy, are a little bit creepy – and approaching stalkerish at times. But Badenoch also specifically took issue with one of the most memorable scenes when a prime minister – played by Hugh Grant – stands up to a domineering, bullying US president played by Billy Bob Thornton. Grant declares: “We may be a small country, but we’re a great one too.”
“There is a British prime minister who’s messing around and is not doing the foreign policy properly,” Badenoch said.
In the film, it’s presented as a moment of triumph and bravery from a UK politician – partly motivated by a US president being inappropriate towards a female staff member. But in reality, the risks of antagonising our larger partner are high.
What happened after the end credits – did the US president hit back? Did the intelligence sharing relationship change? What about all that trade?
The calculation of how much to push and how much to flatter the US President has been on the minds of Downing Street aides and Whitehall figures of late, as Starmer gets his first trip to meet with the new President under way.
For No 10, securing the trip was a relief. Much had been written in advance about the difficulties facing the Labour government when it comes to wooing Team Trump.
Trump’s campaign team saw red over Labour staffers volunteering to campaign in the US election for the Democrats, and some key Trump figures criticised Starmer’s decision to opt for a political pick in Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US – one even suggested Mandelson was a “moron”.
Therefore, managing to continue with the status quo of friendly relations and calls and meetings was something to bank. But the developing situation in Ukraine means that Starmer’s trip has risen in significance.
It was already the case that it would be important and high risk. Can Starmer and Reeves avoid tariffs, as many in the Cabinet hope? Yet this will now be a second order issue, as the world watches to see whether Starmer can add to the work done by Macron this week by trying to move Trump’s position on ending the Ukraine war to one that is more acceptable to the Ukrainians and Europeans.
Since Trump labelled Zelensky a dictator last week, expectations have been rather low over what he might do next. Macron appeared to have some success this week when he met with Trump on Monday. In many ways it was a meeting of two alphas. While both men espouse rather different politics, they have some similar traits: neither are shy in coming forward, lack confidence or are afraid to speak their mind. What other European leader would dare interrupt the US president mid-press conference to correct Trump on how much money Europe has given to Ukraine?
Ministers suspect Starmer will tread rather carefully. “Now is not the time for a Love Actually moment,” says one Labour MP. Instead the idea is to try not to worry too much about what Trump says and instead focus on trying to influence what he does. The new mantra of this No 10 is forget the words, no matter how wild or rude or inaccurate, and focus on actions.
Aides are braced for some potentially awkward moments. There is a brief history of ritual humiliation of UK leaders meeting with Trump – even when they have more in common politically. Theresa May’s trip saw her criticised after Trump held her hand. At a later date she had to endure a joint press conference where the US president largely trashed her Brexit plans. Boris Johnson had a little more luck – but it was still a relationship Downing Street found difficult to navigate.
With Mandelson now confirmed as ambassador, the pair are now working closely together to ingratiate themselves with Team Trump. On Wednesday night, Mandelson hosted his first soiree – a drinks reception “in celebration of their arrival” to Washington DC. Starmer was later confirmed as the guest of honour at the bash.
This is the approach – you attract more flies with honey than vinegar. There has also been a concerted effort to line up friendly announcements, such as the increase in defence spending that has secured praise from Defence Secretary John Healey’s American counterpart Peter Hegseth. And there are reports that Starmer could even paint offshore wind turbines black to stop bird collisions, after Trump raised concerns on this with Starmer on a phone call. Despite railing against Trump in opposition, Starmer and his ministers are getting savvy about how to get him onside.
But there are still plenty of political risks for Starmer. There’s a reason viewers cheered in cinemas when Hugh Grant stood up to the president. If Trump does say something bordering on false or offensive about the UK government, Starmer risks looking like his poodle – and angering his base.
It could make Starmer look as though he lacks a spine. If Starmer can win Trump’s ear, it will be worth it. But a trip that misfires on both counts would risk a backlash all round.
Katy Balls is the political editor of The Spectator
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