US engaging in ‘extreme rightwing tropes’ reminiscent of 1930s, British MPs warn

The US is engaging in “extreme rightwing tropes” with echoes of the 1930s and threatening “chilling” interference in European democracies, British MPs warned ministers on Thursday.

The House of Commons rounded on Donald Trump’s national security strategy, which stated that Europe was facing “civilisational erasure” and vowed to help the continent “correct its current trajectory and promote patriotic European parties”.

Matt Western, a Labour MP and chair of parliament’s joint committee on the UK government’s national security strategy, said: “The United States consensus that has led the western world since the second world war appears shattered.

“The prospect of United States interference in the democratic politics of Europe, I believe, is chilling … The absence of condemnation for Russia is extraordinary, though not surprising.” He said the US pivot left the UK “especially vulnerable”.

Liam Byrne, another Labour MP and chair of the business select committee, said it was “not hard to see the rhymes with some extreme rightwing tropes which date back to the 1930s” and called for closer defence cooperation with Europe.

Keir Starmer and his ministers have been cautious not to criticise Trump and have sought to play down the implications of the strategy document.

Seema Malhotra, a Foreign Office minister, insisted repeatedly on Thursday that the US “remains a strong, reliable and vital ally for the UK” and that ministers agreed with some aspects of the strategy, “like the importance of sustaining freedom and security”.

She told the Commons that the UK government did “take a different view” than the US “on some areas”, including on European strength and the value of multiculturalism.

“What we see is a strong Europe coming together to defend Ukraine with the UK helping to lead the coalition of the willing of more than 30 countries,” she said, adding that European countries were “stepping up on defence spending”.

Bobby Dean, a Liberal Democrat MP, said the strategy was “a document rooted in racist, white supremacist ideology and it should be called out accordingly”, arguing that “mild disagreement will not cut it”.

Invited by Dean to condemn the strategy’s language, Malhotra said she did not agree with its narrative of civilisational erasure.

“I’m proud of our country. I know that migration is an essential element of Britain’s national story,” she said. “We are a thriving multicultural society and I’m proud of that, and we will stand up for our values in the UK and across the world.”

James MacCleary, another Liberal Democrat MP, said the strategy presented a “bleak and dystopian vision of the world”, which prioritised “interference in European democratic processes to promote a specific ideology and worldview”.

Mike Wood, a shadow Cabinet Office minister, said the strategy “makes it even more important that the UK remains a cornerstone of European and global defence”.

Malhotra repeatedly insisted it was for the US to set its own strategy and that “friends and allies respect each other’s choices and traditions”.

The US strategy, which was published last Friday, called for an end to mass migration and criticised European policies on the issue for “creating strife”. It said European countries were mired in “censorship of free speech” and “loss of national identities and self-confidence”.

“It is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies,” the document said. The Russian government welcomed the document, calling it “largely consistent” with its vision.

Trump continued to attack European leaders in an interview this week, accusing them of failing to control immigration, and suggested that European countries would “not be viable countries any longer” without changes to their border policy.

“I think they’re weak, but I also think that they want to be so politically correct … I think they don’t know what to do,” he told the Politico podcast The Conversation.