Later came Rishi Sunak, widely admired in India for becoming the first prime minister of Indian descent to lead the former colonial power. Despite this, he never had much hope for making a deal with the notoriously tough negotiators and left office without securing an agreement.
Then came Trump’s return. When the U.S. president quickly followed through on his threats to impose tariffs on nations, both allies and adversaries, it prompted world powers to seek alternative markets. Just five months into Trump’s second term, Modi rushed to Britain to sign a free trade agreement that the British government claimed would offer a multi-billion pound export boost for the U.K.
Trump’s actions underscored India’s need for new trading partners as he imposed harsh tariffs on New Delhi due to Modi’s persistent oil purchases from Moscow. Journalists accompanying Starmer to India questioned the British PM about whether he’d ask Modi to divest, but he evaded the question.
At a press conference post a day spent with his Indian counterpart, Starmer addressed two questions on the issue in only vague terms. Once the cameras stopped, aides confirmed that the duo had indeed discussed Russian oil.
This isn’t the first time Starmer has acted as a global pragmatist, irrespective of the moral issues involved.
Starmer had a significant meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping the previous year and twice refrained from condemning the imprisonment of numerous pro-democracy figures in another former British colony, Hong Kong, under authoritarian laws from Beijing. The U.K. “mustn’t lose … the opportunity for our economy,” Starmer stated, choosing not to publicly criticize Beijing over what many in Britain consider an outrage.
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