Welcome to British Isles Friday! British Isles Friday is a weekly event for sharing all things British and Irish — reviews, photos, opinions, trip reports, guides, links, resources, personal stories, interviews, and research posts. Join us each Friday to link your British and Irish themed content and to see what others have to share. The link list is at the bottom of this post. Pour a cup of tea or lift a pint and join our link party!

Last week, I reviewed Lucy Worsley’s latest series, Holmes vs Doyle. Tina read her first Classics Club selection, Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain. Tina also watched a police drama set in Belfast, Ireland: Blue Lights.

Sir Keir Starmer
By Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street

I haven’t written posts about British politics recently. I had to look up how to spell “Keir Starmer,” the current Prime Minister. I remember being mildly amused that the Brits held an election on the Fourth of July. At that election in 2024, the Labour Party won over the Conservative Party, making Keir Starmer the first Labour PM in fourteen years.

Prime Minister Kier Starmer popped into my consciousness again when he met the Republican President at the White House last week. Things happened pretty quickly after that, so I wanted to get all of this clear for myself. I hope it helps others, too. The links are all to BBC articles, since I wanted to look at this from the perspective of the British.

UK Prime Minister visits Whites House

The Prime Minister’s visit on Thursday, February 27, was very cordial. PM Starmer gave the President an invitation from King Charles III for an unprecedented second state visit. The Prime Minister and the President negotiated about a trade deal that might keep the UK off the list of countries dealing with new US tariffs. Both leaders sounded very positive about Ukraine.

Of course, it was big news the very next day, on Friday, when the US President sounded much less positive about Ukraine while President Zelenskyy visited the Oval Office.

Zelenskyy visit to London
In a stark contrast to Zelenskyy’s Oval Office visit, the President of Ukraine was greeted with a hug by the Prime Minister of the UK in front of 10 Downing Street.

Summit
On Sunday, PM Starmer hosted a summit of European leaders with President Zelenskyy to chart a path forward for Ukraine, probably with less assistance from the United States.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts a European Leaders Summit at Lancaster House. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street

Prime Minister Starmer has stepped out of the limelight of international news since then, but I think he’s worth attention. He seems to be capable of operating in the world without inviting the enmity of the Republican President. Unfortunately, that feels like an important skill in the present moment.