The director of Chatham House, Bronwen Maddox, has declared that Donald Trump has effectively ended the western alliance, forcing the UK to adopt a bolder and more independent foreign policy towards the US and China. In her annual lecture, she warned that staying silent on principles underpinning the liberal international order risks consigning them to history.
Maddox described Trump’s impulsiveness, taste for military action and rejection of international law as a revolution. She argued that US allies must now contemplate defending themselves against the US in both trade and security. 'It is not grandiose to call this the end of the western alliance,' she said, noting the abandonment of shared principles such as individual liberty, constitutional democracy and free trade.
She cited Trump’s lawsuit against the BBC and threats to acquire Greenland as examples of this shift. Maddox urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to publicly defend the BBC and take a tougher stance with China, particularly regarding a proposed new embassy near the City of London and Chinese involvement in UK wind turbine technology.
Maddox acknowledged the UK’s dilemma in wanting both trade and defence support from the US, but insisted that lines must be drawn on principle. She also called for new alliances with countries committed to upholding international law.
