UK-US Is the 'special relationship' working?

Moments after Air Force One touched down on the runway at Prestwick on Friday for a trip in which politics will take as big a billing as golf, Donald Trump was asked about his relationship with Keir Starmer.

- Pippa Crerar

"I like your prime minister. He's slightly more liberal than I am, as you've probably heard. But he's a good man," the US president told reporters. At a time when the UK wants Trump's ear on a number of weighty issues, his response to questions about the "special relationship" will have given Downing Street some reassurance. But it has been hard won. Starmer has been clear since before Trump's re-election that he would work with him if it was in Britain's national interest. There have been some uncomfortable moments, but so far his decision to align himself with the US president has broadly paid off.

Most notable was the economic deal agreed by the two leaders that slashes some of Trump's tariffs on cars, aluminium and steel, and which - even though it is not yet fully implemented - the UK government hopes will be a first step towards a closer trading relationship.