The global energy crisis has escalated after Israel bombed South Pars, the Iranian-controlled part of the world’s largest natural gas field, while Iran retaliated with missile strikes on Ras Laffan, the site of Qatar’s main gas production facility.
Donald Trump said Israel was responsible for the attack in South Pars and denied US involvement. He called on both sides to stop targeting energy infrastructure as the war spirals out of his control. The market reaction was immediate. This morning, UK wholesale gas prices jumped 25 per cent to their highest level since 2022.
While there are some in Britain who still defend the idea that the war is justified, it has begun to bear the hallmarks of a historic disaster for which Trump may not be easily forgiven. But this is a Westminster newsletter, so today I’d like to look at how the British right, which has been broadly supportive of Trump since the start of his second term, is responding to the fallout.
Reform is currently engaged in an inelegant reverse discovery. The latest poll shows its supporters are the most pro-war of any British party, although such enthusiasm has waned in the past two weeks. Nigel Farage, as a longtime ally of Trump, initially supported the war. He has now changed his stance, presenting himself as the answer to rising energy prices. At PMQs yesterday, Farage made upbeat claims about the potential for new North Sea oil and gas licenses to lower prices.
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Conservatives are in a similar position. After Trump’s victory, there were Tories who pointed out to their new leader, Kemi Badenoch, that there was an opportunity to pursue a skeptical approach to Trump that was in line with public opinion and blindsided Farage and Starmer, then the latter, at that point, embraced Trump closely for the sake of diplomacy. With the next election not expected after Trump’s final term expires, the conservative leader would not have much to lose.
Instead, Badenoch toed Trump’s line on most key questions until yesterday she criticized the president calling his attacks on Starmer “childish”. While it may be the start of a new and stronger position, it may be too little, too late. Events have developed so quickly that now Starmer, who is not known to be politically astute, has been able to position himself as the main Trump skeptic in British politics.
This piece first appeared in the Morning Call newsletter; get it every morning by subscribing to Substack here
(Further reading: Angela Rayner fires back)
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