JD Vance says 'beautiful' Britain has been 'failed by its leadership'

Published on 05/07/2026 - 14:16 GMT+2

US Vice President JD Vance said Britain has been "failed by its leadership for a long time" following the resignation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Vance, who has been a strong critic of the UK and Europe more widely since he took office in January 2025, made the comments in an interview with The Sunday Times published this weekend.

While he called Britain "amazing," Vance said there appeared to him to be something "very broken about British politics".

"People are really crying out for significant structural change,” he said. “I hope that Andy Burnham — and if not Andy Burnham, somebody else — is able to deliver it. Because Britain is such a beautiful country, such an amazing place".

Starmer, who will remain in office until his Labour Party appoints a successor, announced he was stepping down as PM last month amid mounting pressure sparked by disastrous local election results in May.

He is expected to be replaced by newly elected MP Andy Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester who stormed to victory in the Makerfield by-election in June. Should he be successful, Burnham would become the seventh British prime minister in a decade.

Vance said he hoped whoever the next prime minister is can work out "how to get Britain back on track”.

US President Donald Trump has also criticised Starmer, who refused to back Trump's war in Iran, over his policymaking approach.

"He failed badly on two very important subjects- immigration and energy (open North Sea oil!)," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social as Starmer's exit appeared imminent.

Vance has often clashed with European leaders, accusing them of restricting free speech and not doing enough to tackle immigration.

The vice president caused particular outrage at the Munich Security Conference in 2025, where he delivered a scathing attack on European democracies.

During a speech at the conference, Vance railed against European Union "commissars" and said Europe was retreating "from some of its most fundamental values".

In early June, as protests broke out in the UK over the murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak, Vance again caused controversy after slamming "European elites" and migration policies.

"His murder is as tragic as it is enraging," he wrote in a post on X. "He should still be alive today, and he would be if the last few generations of European elites had stood their ground against the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants".

Tensions between the US and Europe have also been building over Trump's pursuit of Greenland. Trump argues that Washington needs to acquire the Danish territory for national defence purposes.

"If we don't do it, China or Russia will," Trump has said of his efforts to acquire Greenland.