Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has urged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to take a stronger stance against Donald Trump, calling the US President “out of control” following his military actions in the Middle East.
In an interview with GB News, Davey described Trump’s operation in Iran as “appalling” and expressed concerns about its impact on the UK economy amid ongoing global instability.
Davey criticised the Prime Minister for not confronting Trump more decisively and called for closer cooperation with European and Commonwealth allies to safeguard trade, defence, and security. He stated, “No, he [Trump] doesn’t know what he is doing, and I’m really worried that this American President is out of control.”
Sir Ed told GB News: “People are generally worried, and what I want to show is that the Liberal Democrats have answers and have the courage to stand up for Britain.
I’ve been arguing for well over a year that we need to stand up to Trump far, far more firmly, and I think the Prime Minister has been weak on that.
Sir Ed added: “We need to have another strategy for our country. We need to work with our European allies, with our Commonwealth allies far more.
Both for our economy to protect ourselves from the trade barriers being put up by Donald Trump, and also for our defence and security.
The Lib Dem leader was asked if he believes that Trump “knows what he is doing” in the Middle East?
Sir Ed said: “No he doesn’t, and I’m really worried that this American President is out of control.
“I say it with sadness because I’ve always regarded the Americans as a close ally of the UK. But under Donald Trump, they’ve become a very unreliable ally, both on the economy and on foreign policy.
“And while I’m glad the Prime Minister is beginning to show signs that he’s standing up to Trump, we’ve got to make sure that he really follows through on that.”
Additionally, the Lib Dem leader condemned the Conservatives and Reform UK for acting as “cheerleaders” for Trump, supporting his actions despite the potential consequences for the Middle East and for UK households already grappling with high fuel and energy costs. He called on these parties to apologise and on the Government to take action to assist citizens facing rising living costs.
“I’ve been very cross all day. The Conservatives and Nigel Farage and Reform have backed Donald Trump, have been their cheerleader, even egging on the Government to try to get them to support this illegal war of Donald Trump.
And they’re not realising the impact it’s going to have across the Middle East, on our friends and allies, but also on people and our economy here in the UK.
He continued: “We’re seeing people already struggling with high costs and living, high cost of business, seeing petrol prices go up, worried about what’s going to happen to interest rates, what’s going to happen to energy bills later this year.
“And given we’ve been suffering from a cost of living crisis for so long, this is a disaster. Frankly, the Conservatives and Reform should apologize for cheering on this war, and the Government has got to get its act together to show that it will support people who are struggling.”
