Newslinks for Wednesday 4th March 2026

Starmer is no Churchill, says Trump as tensions rise

“Donald Trump has launched a fresh assault on Sir Keir Starmer mocking the PM as no Winston Churchill. Speaking in the Oval Office the US President doubled down on his attacks on the PM over his blocking of the use the UK base in Diego Garcia to bomb Iran. Just hours after telling The Sun the Special Relationship was “not what it used to be”, Mr Trump told reporters: “I’m not happy with the UK.” And speaking in front of a bust Britain’s wartime hero, President Trump unleashed his latest withering assessment of the PM. Referencing Sir Keir’s botched attempts to giveaway the Chagos Islands, he added: “That island. He made a lease of the island. Somebody came and took it away from him.” Mr Trump added: “This is not the age of Churchill.. the UK has been very unhelpful, with that stupid island of theirs… what is that all about? They have ruined relationships – its a shame.” The US has withdrawn support for Labour’s deal over concerns they would lose access to the crucial airbase in the Indian Ocean that could have refuelled B2 bombers striking the Mullahs. The President added: “And it’s taken 3 or 4 days for us to work out where we can land. This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with.” The latest attack came after Downing Street said the US is still a “staunch” ally after Donald Trump launched another broadside against Sir Keir Starmer over the Middle East war.” – The Sun

• Britain scrambles warship to Cyprus after France deploys aircraft carrier – Daily Telegraph
• Fears Gulf states will run out of anti-drone rockets in DAYS amid Dubai onslaught as Brits race to first UK evac flight – The Sun
• Who hates who in the Middle East: As a former British Nato commander warns we are on the brink of World War III – the definitive guide to who is backing Trump… and who is on the side of the Mullahs – Daily Mail
• US commander declares ‘We have just begun’ as 4 dead soldiers named – The Times
• British students mourn ‘beloved’ Ayatollah – Daily Telegraph
• Vigils at British mosques for ‘martyr’ Ayatollah Khamenei – The Times

Comment:

• Starmer undermining Trump has caused worst ever rift in Special Relationship… and all to appease the PM’s Labour critics – Harry Cole, The Sun
• I commanded Nato. I fear we’re living through the start of WWIII – Richard Shirreff, Daily Mail
• No PM since Suez has bungled the special relationship worse than Starmer – Philip Johnston, Daily Telegraph
• Under Starmer UK is an irrelevant 3rd-rate power squawking from sidelines about legal niceties & dithering over despots – Leo McKinstry, The Sun
• Is the ‘special relationship’ dead? Why Trump turned on Britain – Katy Balls, The Times
• What does victory in Iran look like? Here are three possible answers – Tobias Ellwood, Daily Telegraph
• Starmer’s Iran mess was shaped by Hermer – Daniel Finkelstein, The Times
• Trump is right. Starmer has humiliated the land of Churchill – Allison Pearson, Daily Telegraph
• Can Tehran find a leader from the chaos? –  Roger Boyes, The Times

> Today:

Reeves raid pushes taxes to record high

“Labour’s stealth raid on workers will drive Britain’s tax burden up to a fresh record high, rising further and faster than previously forecast. Taxes will rake in £1.4tn per year by the start of the next decade, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), up from £1.2tn today. That is equivalent to 38.5pc of GDP, up from 36.3pc in this financial year and higher than the 38.3pc predicted by the OBR at the time of Rachel Reeves’s Budget in November. Critically, it is even further above the previous record tax burden of 37.2pc borne in 1948-49, when Britain was beginning to pay down the vast debts it accrued defeating the Nazis in the Second World War. “Rising income tax revenues account for nearly half of the rise in receipts as a share of GDP, reflecting the freezing of personal tax thresholds until the end of 2030-31,” said the OBR in its forecast on Tuesday. Ms Reeves’s decision in November to freeze income tax thresholds means that millions of workers will be pulled into paying tax for the first time or into higher bands as they receive pay rises, even if the spending power of their wages falls in real terms. This is a powerful stealth tax. The OBR estimates that by 2030-31, the freeze will rake in £67bn per year for the Treasury.” – Daily Telegraph

• Unemployment set to hit 5.3% this year amid ‘worrying’ rise in young jobless – The Guardian
• UK growth forecast downgraded and unemployment will peak this year, chancellor reveals – Sky News
• Taxes to hit highest levels since WW2 & welfare spending soars despite ‘in denial’ Reeves insisting she fixed UK economy – The Sun
• Rachel Reeves’s tax burden ‘could deter workers from trying to earn more – The Times
• A million more pensioners will be hit to help pay for Rachel Reeves’ benefits boom – Daily Mail

Comment:

• Unemployment is back with a vengeance. Nobody knows how bad it will get – Szu Ping Chan, Daily Telegraph
• The Iran crisis is the Chancellor’s greatest test. But there’s no sign she even recognises it – Alex Brummer, Daily Mail
• The Chancellor’s one priority was to save her job – Andrew Lilico, Daily Telegraph
• Reeves has no one to blame but herself for Britain’s economic mess – Tom Harris, Daily Telegraph

> Today:

> Yesterday:

Net zero is the answer to Middle East energy crisis, says Business Secretary

“Britain must “double down” on net zero after the Iran crisis sent energy prices soaring, the Business Secretary has said. Peter Kyle said building more renewables such as solar and wind would help reduce the country’s exposure to oil and gas coming from “parts of the world which are fundamentally unstable”. His comments came after the conflict in the Middle East sent the European gas price up 80pc and oil prices nearly 20pc as Iranian strikes on production facilities in the Gulf spooked markets and sparked fears of a supply crunch. If sustained, analysts have warned that the surge threatens to trigger a sharp rise in household bills and fuel costs comparable to that which followed the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Mr Kyle said on Tuesday: “Doubling down on renewables is, yes, right for climate change, it’s, yes, right for jobs. It is also essential because we keep on seeing these lived examples of how instability, through regional instability, is creeping into our energy prices, for which the British Government has no agency.” The transition to green energy was “about sovereignty,” Mr Kyle added. Ministers have repeatedly blamed gas prices for high energy prices in Britain, where households and businesses pay some of the most expensive bills in the developed world. But energy suppliers recently pushed back against this narrative and warned that the biggest driver of bills over the next few years will be green levies and network charges, which are soaring, resulting from the Government’s net zero plans.” – Daily Telegraph

• UK energy bills: businesses and households face new price shock – Financial Times
• Energy bills could soar to £2,500 a year for Brits as Middle East war sends gas prices rocketing to three-year high – The Sun
• Britain’s vulnerability to the Gulf exposed as energy crisis unfolds – Daily Telegraph
• Gas prices nearly double as Europe braces for Iran war energy shocks – Euronews
• The nightmare Iran energy scenario is becoming reality – The Economist

Comment:

• Energy markets will force Trump to end his reckless war very soon – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Daily Telegraph
• An economic shock is coming. And Reeves isn’t ready – Hamish McRae, The i

> Today:

News in brief:

• Poll: Reform UK is most disliked party in Britain – Max Mitchell, UnHerd
• Britain has never needed an ‘Islamophobia’ definition less – Brendan O’Neill, The Spectator
• The choice before the Labour Party – David Miliband, The New Statesman
• A grooming gang whitewash – Katie Lam, The Critic
• We must protect the world’s oldest Christian country – Edward Leigh, CapX