A bit of a stitch-up at PMQs, or so it seemed. The ‘opposition’ leader, Kemi Badenoch, ignored her duty to voters and spent ten minutes feeding softball questions to Sir Keir Starmer about President Zelensky. At issue was Donald Trump’s decision on Monday to withdraw military aid from Ukraine. Kemi meekly asked Sir Keir if he might help.
‘What is he doing to rebuild their relationship after a challenging week?’
Sir Keir can do nothing, obviously. Trump has lost patience with the leader of an impoverished, war-sick country whose eastern fringes are occupied by a hostile superpower. Britain has no influence either way. But Sir Keir wants to pose as a crucial member of an imaginary triumvirate that can redraw the map of Eastern Europe. And Kemi did all she could abet this fairytale.
Sir Keir mentioned his recent contacts with the White House. ‘I’ve spoken to him, I think, three times since then on the telephone,’ he said.
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