Last week saw the second state visit of President Donald Trump. He seemed to enjoy himself, and, frankly, who wouldn’t when all the pomp and circumstance this country has to offer is laid on for a second shout.
The timing was interesting – as it was when he last came in 2018. Parliament was just into recess for the party conference season. This meant that the President would not get the chance to address Parliament, as his earlier predecessor, Barak Obama did when he visited. Call me an old cynic, but the timing seemed sublime.
All in all, it seemed to be a good visit. It would be easy for me, as an opposition MP, to be critical of the Prime Minister’s sycophantic behaviour in front of Trump. But to Starmer’s credit, the visit announced a number of big tech investments into the UK. That has to be a good thing as this type of investment not only brings in significant capital, but also improves our country’s productivity, hopefully making us all each a little richer.
And in the spirit of praising the PM, Starmer has done a good job of engaging Trump, and tackling the bizarre and damaging tariff war that the US president has embarked on.
But, despite the successes of last week, we still have big problems. The tech investment will highlight just how inefficient our electricity grid is and just how bonkers this government’s energy policies really are. Data centres need an astonishing amount of electricity, and add to that the electrification of many gas and petrol activities, generation and distribution is woefully short of what is needed.
Add to that the decision to close down the oil and gas fields in the North Sea, and we have a problem. Oil and gas is a global market, but the energy we produce here in the UK generates not just thousands of jobs, but also huge tax revenues. Take away the tax from the north sea, and we shall all see our tax bills going up in the November budget.
So, I am pleased the PM has had a good week. I want, more than anything else, for our country to do well. But as we embark on the party conferences, we need to be looking closely at what the government is proposing for us all. They need to get it right.
