From 5h agoWelcome to the ConversationWelcome to our latest Q&A with a Guardian journalist. Political columnist Rafael Behr is online now answering your questions.Sign up here to join the discussion and post your questionsKey events5m agoWhat will the geopolitical impact on a Burnham government be? Should be relax the fiscal rules?12m agoDoes everyone hate Starmer but me?18m agoWhat will happen to Starmer's policy agenda now?24m agoAre journalists to blame for the insability in No 10?35m agoWhat will a post-truth world look like?40m agoWhy is the government still on X?45m agoIs the Norway option still possible?49m agoCould the UK rejoin the EU without another referendum?5h agoWelcome to the ConversationWhat will the geopolitical impact on a Burnham government be? Should be relax the fiscal rules?mspiggy asks: 1. Given the external factors of the economic situation + Trump (Iran etc), will/can the impact on the UK general public of a Burnham or even a Polanski administration be any different to the outgoing Starmer/Reeves administration?2. Would you advise a Burnham administration to relax Labour’s fiscal rules? What do you think the outcome would be of doing so/not doing so?
double quotation markRaf: 1: The defence and security partnership with the US is extremely tight and bundled very deep. Much of the UK’s defence capacity really relies on the Pentagon. In this respect the “special relationship” is hard-wired in. That isn’t an argument for just sucking up to Trump regardless of what he does, but it does explain why Starmer had to tread very carefully indeed. There is a case for seeking much more strategic autonomy from Washington but that’s a challenge to be met over a generation. Can’t be done quickly and is very expensive.
