US Vice President JD Vance has arrived in the UK for a visit, with his stay at the historic Chevening estate drawing attention. The estate, gifted to the nation by the last Earl Stanhope, is being used by Foreign Secretary David Lammy to host the Vances. Lammy has emphasised their shared working-class backgrounds and Christian faith as a basis for building a relationship.
Lammy told the BBC: 'Let me just say on JD Vance that I've met him now on several occasions, we share a similar working-class backgrounds with addiction issues in our family. We've written books on that, we've talked about that, and we're both Christians. So I think I can find common ground with JD Vance.' The Foreign Secretary also noted that Vance relates to Deputy PM Angela Rayner, with whom he met in Rome.
However, the visit has not been without controversy. The Stop Trump Coalition plans to make the vice president feel unwelcome, but commentators argue that a friendly approach is more effective. Vance's friend, Cambridge don James Orr, describes him as fundamentally well-disposed to Britain, and his wife Usha studied at Cambridge.
The Cotswolds, where the Vances will spend much of their time, has been described as 'Potemkin England' by some, but the hope is that the visit will foster positive relations between the US and UK.
