Political Fix · Financial Times

Starmer's superpower: soft power?

·28 min·2 clips
Trump enters Alaska talks with no Russia expert, risking Putin bamboozling the US president.
The FT's Political Fix analyzes UK diplomacy ahead of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, examining Keir Starmer's efforts to influence US policy on Ukraine while managing relations with Trump. The discussion also covers soft power assets like the Cotswolds and Bayeux Tapestry, and George Osborne's role as a political fixer arranging J.D. Vance's holiday.

As heard by us

Soft power, hard limits, and Britain's attempt to shape Trump.

Starmer's bid to turn access into influence sits at the center of this episode, which begins with J.D. Vance in the Cotswolds and widens to what Britain can do before the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

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Why you'd press play

When a Cotswolds holiday turns into a test of geopolitics.

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