LONDON — U.S. Vice President JD Vance is weighing in on British politics, saying the United Kingdom has been “failed by its leadership for a long time” and expressing hope that the country’s next prime minister can bring about the kind of sweeping change citizens have been demanding.
Speaking to the Sunday Times newspaper, Vance said the rapid succession of British governments points to something fundamentally broken in the country’s political system. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced last month that he would be stepping down after two years in office, setting the stage for Britain to welcome its seventh prime minister in just ten years.
Lawmaker Andy Burnham has emerged as the leading candidate to take over from Starmer and is widely expected to succeed him.
“What I see is six prime ministers in the last few years,” Vance told the paper. “What that says to me is that something is very broken about British politics and that people are really crying out for significant structural change.”
The vice president went on to say, “I hope that Andy Burnham — and if not Andy Burnham, somebody else — is able to deliver it,” adding that he hopes “whoever the prime minister is figures out how to get Britain back on track.”
Vance, whose wife Usha attended the University of Cambridge and who has often expressed fondness for the country, called Britain an “amazing place” with the “most amazing people in the world” outside the United States.
His remarks follow a relationship between Starmer and U.S. President Donald Trump that was at times tense but largely workable. The two leaders frequently emphasized the importance of the U.S.-UK “special relationship” even as they clashed on issues such as Iran, Gaza, and Ukraine, while also managing to reach trade and investment agreements.
When Starmer stepped down last month, Trump called him a “lovely man” and “a sort of friend of mine,” but criticized his handling of immigration and energy policy. Trump added, “I wish him well.”
Trump has since described Burnham as “extremely liberal” and suggested Britain’s likely next leader would probably not support expanded North Sea oil and gas drilling — something Trump had been pushing Starmer to pursue.
In the same Sunday Times interview, Vance acknowledged he doesn’t know much about Burnham personally, but stressed that Britain remains one of America’s closest partners. “Whoever is the prime minister, we’re going to work with them and work with them as successfully as we can,” he said.
