UK must boost ties with EU following Trump’s re-election, Starmer told

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Mr Gozi’s intervention comes as politicians in the UK say the result of the US election should be a “wake-up call” for Sir Keir Starmer after Mr Trump swept to victory last week. “These could be new areas of cooperation in the common interest.” There have been renewed calls for closer ties with the EU coming from within the UK since the US election, with former Conservative deputy leader Michael Heseltine telling The Independent: “The quicker we restore our position at the heart of Europe the better – from our point of view, from Europe’s point of view and from the world’s point of view.” While he acknowledged that the US has “done a great deal to preserve the stability of the western world”, Lord Heseltine - who is also president of pro-EU campaign group the European Movement - warned: “We must always remember that there is an element of American politics called ‘America First’, which is having a significant exposure at the moment.” America First was a term coined by President Woodrow Wilson in his 1916 campaign which pledged to keep America neutral in World War I. open image in gallery Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer has been warned the result of the US election should be a ‘wake-up call’ Referencing the policy, he said: “It is unreasonable for Europe to automatically rely on America, however benign their support has been over the last three-quarters of a century.” Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Calum Miller told The Independent the result of the US election should be a “wake-up call for the UK”. Mike Galsworthy, chair of the European Movement, said Mr Trump’s election makes “international waters on trade and security much more choppy”, adding: “That means the UK is better off closer to the large harbour of the EU.” But Mr Gozi said the desire for closer ties since the election is “not one-sided”, saying the EU “We also think that there is an interest in strengthening our relationship with the UK,” he said. Pointing to the EU-UK summit, announced by Sir Keir earlier this year as part of a broader “reset” of relations with the bloc, Mr Gozi said: “It is a meeting that can act as a booster to our relationship.” In October, the prime minister met with EU Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen, where the two leaders agreed to “strengthen the relationship” between the UK and the EU.