London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 23, 2025

President Biden: Bad News For Britain And Boris?

President Biden: Bad News For Britain And Boris?

Boris Johnson is a more natural fit with Donald Trump - two populist showmen set on shaking up the established order. But for Britain, President Joe Biden isn't all bad news.

An air of anticipation, and anxiety, will hang heavy around 10 Downing Street this morning. Ears straining for the familiar chimes of the Prime Minister’s phone, awaiting feverishly the most coveted call in world politics: “Please hold for the President-Elect.”

For Boris Johnson, unsure of where he stands with Joe Biden, America’s chosen man, it’ll be a nervy moment.

On the face of it, he’s a more natural fit with Donald Trump: two populist showmen set on shaking up the established order. Scratch below the surface, however, and it’s clear America’s next leader - an avowed internationalist and climate champion - has more in common with the British premier than meets the eye.

Establishing precisely where these areas of mutual interest lie will be a priority for London. On this, there’s ground to be made up - UK officials, like all overseas players, were denied access to Team Biden during the campaign, an effort to thwart accusations of foreign interference.

A deficit of trust must also be overturned. President-Elect Biden is well aware of the Trumpian edge to Johnson’s administration, not long ago dubbing the prime minister a “physical and emotional clone” of his vanquished Republican rival. The 46th President won’t easily forget Johnson’s digs at his former boss, Barack Obama, either (the "part-Kenyan" ex-president had an “ancestral dislike” of the British empire), nor excuse the Brit’s withering commentary of Hillary Clinton (a “sadistic mental health nurse”).

But it’s Brexit that’ll prove the biggest sticking point. Vocal in his opposition to Britain’s EU divorce, Biden will waste no time in pressuring Johnson to abandon threats of no-deal, encouraging instead an eleventh-hour olive branch to Brussels. Should London resist, things could get ugly - especially if the government's incendiary Internal Market Bill remains in play.

A piece of Brexit legislation that could, experts say, see the island of Ireland again riven by a hard border, the Bill is of deep personal concern to Biden, an Irish-American with strong ties to his ancestral homeland. Should it, or any other British proposal, threaten Irish peace, a transatlantic trade deal would be off the table, the President-Elect has warned in no uncertain terms.

It’s a threat Downing Street would be wise to take seriously. The success of Brexit - upon which Johnson’s legacy hangs - is tied inextricably to sealing a bumper UK-US trade pact; one that underscores the value of commercial sovereignty, and vindicates Britain’s decision to go it alone.



Even if Biden’s Irish fears are assuaged, securing such a deal won’t be easy. Negotiators have been hard at it since January, seeking common ground on food standards, agriculture, market access for drug companies, and a litany of other thorny issues; but progress has been glacial.

With the departure of Donald Trump, who spoke energetically of a speedy agreement, the process is likely to slow even further. EU member states, collectively the world’s second largest economy, have suffered four years of insult and alienation from a disdainful Washington; healing those divisions, not brokering more Anglo-US trade, will be President Biden’s regional priority.

They say the 77-year-old is a pragmatist, however, and 2021 isn’t a year that Britain will easily be ignored. From January, the UK will assume a succession of heady international roles - G7 and UN Security Council presidencies, before hosting the COP26 climate conference in December - each one of vital importance to an Oval Office under new administration.

These meetings will reveal a striking overlap of Biden-Johnson policy objectives. On the urgent need for new environmental agreement at COP26, the two men could scarcely be more closely aligned, particularly when measured against Trump’s unyielding climate skepticism. There’s common ground on Iran too, with Britain - as part of a wider European front - strenuously opposed to the outgoing president’s showdown with Tehran, something Biden is set to reverse.



And then there are interests that speak directly to the nations’ vaunted special relationship. NATO spending, for one, will remain an area of unwavering agreement (unlike many European allies, the UK meets its military spending obligations), while both Johnson and Biden see the need to contain Russia's creeping aggression in the East - something neither France nor Germany, for various political and economic reasons, appear unwilling to tackle.

With this in mind, Boris Johnson needn't entirely mourn America’s changing of the guard. Will Biden offer the same blustering exuberance and Brexit back-slapping as his predecessor? The same personal chemistry?

No; but he’ll work to uplift - not wreck - the sort of global multilateralism upon which Britain thrives. For London, that's something at least.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
×