Lost in Transition? The “Special Relationship” between the United Kingdom and the United States in a Year of Electoral Uncertainties

In 2021, the British Integrated Review described the United States as the United Kingdom’s most important strategic ally. However, the political instability caused by Brexit hindered the restoration of the transatlantic trust, already eroded during the first Trump administration. The prospect of Trump’s return to power threatened the relational reset implemented by the Starmer government with the Biden administration. After a year of electoral uncertainties, this paper assesses the current state of the UK-US special relationship. The US presidential campaign which followed the UK general election indeed tested the political relationship between the Labour Prime Minister and the Republican nominee then President-elect, requiring from Starmer a courting strategy towards Trump. The policy implemented by the new US administration has also affected the intelligence, defence, and nuclear pillars of the relationship, compelling once again the UK to “pay the price” of the alliance with the US.