Starmer likely to face questions on deteriorating relations with Trumppublished at 09:53 BST

09:53 BST

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Image source, EPA

Sir
Keir Starmer will give a press conference from Downing Street soon, focusing on the conflict in the Middle East and what it means for the
British economy.

On
the diplomatic side, expect the prime minister to face questions about his
deteriorating relationship with President Trump. He may try to avoid responding
directly to the president’s assertion that the UK should “go get your own oil” from the Strait of Hormuz.

Yet it’s been striking in recent weeks how willing
Starmer has been to embrace the fact that he resisted pressure from Trump for
the UK to play a greater role in the war.

On
the economic side, expect the prime minister to reiterate the position of his
chancellor that support is coming for those who need it – but not until the
autumn. That is coming under pressure from opposition parties who believe that
there are immediate measures the government should take both on fuel prices and
household energy bills.

As
today is 1 April, there are various new prices taking effect today. The energy
price cap of course – which means that for many prices will fall before the
now-inevitable price rise – but also increases in the minimum wage rates, the
state pension and working age benefits.

It is likely that Starmer will argue
that these amount to support with the cost of living, even though they were
planned before this conflict.