OPINION: Daniel R. Suhr
The United States and Great Britain have long enjoyed a special relationship in world affairs, strengthened from our shared sacrifices twice in defense of freedom during two world wars. Winston Churchill’s vision for the Atlantic Alliance, tying together America and Europe for the long haul, was matched by his desire for an alliance of the English-speaking peoples—the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. To this day, the most important avenue for sharing intelligence (spy stuff) is the Five Eyes network of those nations.
Because Britain and America have this special bond, the United States has a distinct interest in Britain staying great. A strong, free, proud Britain, ready to lead for Western values in the world, is important to the United States’ own success on the global stage.
Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer has gambled much of that good will away in recent months, and last week’s local election results were a hearty rebuke to his failed leadership. Starmer’s response to the U.S.-Israel action in Iran has been less than great, to the point of being mocked by Britain’s version of Saturday Night Live. As President Trump has said of late, Starmer is no Winston Churchill. He’s not much like Margaret Thatcher, Boris Johnson, or Tony Blair either. No wonder British voters recently punished Labour at the polls, as the party lost an astounding 1,496 seats in local government (out of 5,066 such seats nationwide), including majority control of 38 local councils.
Starmer’s uncertainty on the world stage speaks to a deeper lack of confidence. The Bank of England last month announced a plan to take Winston Churchill’s image off the nation’s currency, along with other figures from British history, to be replaced by nature scenes of plants and small fuzzy animals like badgers and hedgehogs. Meanwhile, Parliament has expelled the hereditary members of the House of Lords, itself perhaps not a bad thing but indicative of a larger social shift away from traditional institutions. And President Trump has lit Starmer up on TruthSocial multiple times over his decision to abandon British sovereignty over Diego Garcia, an island outpost crucial to U.S./U.K. military strength in the Pacific.
Perhaps echoing Churchill’s promise of nothing but blood, toil, tears, and sweat, Lowe predicted the need for deep, hard, even harsh changes to “restore Britain.”
In February, seeing these and other trends, Rupert Lowe, a member of Parliament, launched a new political party: Restore Britain. Taped on a farm that could have been straight out of an episode of All Creatures Great and Small or the outer fields of Downton Abbey, the party’s launch video sounded themes that sound familiar to American ears, echoing many of the sentiments that Donald Trump ran on. He promised to bring in outsiders from the normal political system as the party’s candidates, saying such independence from the status quo would be necessary for the shock therapy the country needs.
Perhaps echoing Churchill’s promise of nothing but blood, toil, tears, and sweat, Lowe predicted the need for deep, hard, even harsh changes to “restore Britain.”
There are other big developments among Britain’s conservatives, and the ruling Labour Party is moving even farther to the left.
Many Brits have bought into the woke leftism of modern European democratic socialism. And it’s an even more pronounced problem given the large numbers of immigrants who are changing the face of Britain, especially in its urban centers. Many of these immigrants are dependent on the nation’s generous welfare system.
A decade ago, Britain chose “leave” on the Brexit vote, 52 to 48 percent, intentionally dis-integrating itself from the European Union. And Boris Johnson was prime minister on a platform of implementing Brexit as recently as 2022.
And even more broadly, Britain has made some other positive choices in the past few years to make an effort at staying great, including retaining its nuclear deterrent and launching a pair of aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. British participation in the AUKUS alliance—Australia, United Kingdom, United States—was also a strong statement of willingness to lead on a global scale. (The South Pacific is a long way from the Atlantic’s North Sea.) And the state visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla to commemorate America’s own 250th birthday showed the Brits still have deep good will among the American people.
We should hope that we may yet see Britain made great again.
About the Author: Daniel R. Suhr
Daniel is an attorney who fights for freedom in courts across America. He has worked as a senior adviser for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, as a law clerk for Judge Diane Sykes of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and at the national headquarters of the Federalist Society. He is a member of Christ Church Mequon. He is an Eagle Scout and loves spending time with his wife, Anna, and their two sons, Will and Graham, at their home near Milwaukee.
