Maybe it has taken some people a little longer to get here than others, but at the least in the UK, it’s reasonable to say that most people do not like Donald Trump or the direction he is taking the USA in. Indeed, a YouGov UK poll in December 2025 found 77% of participants have a negative view of him. It’s also a fair assessment that our government’s actions do not reflect this statistic.

Sir Keir Starmer emphasised his desire for “calm discussion” with the US president and a “pragmatic, sensible and sustained” attitude towards UK–US relations at a Downing Street press conference on the 19th. Starmer's reluctancy to damage this productive working relationship is understandable. However, given that relationship has become counterproductive, we have no other choice but to go our own way.

With America hurtling towards fascism under the Republicans, there is a legitimate fear that our country might follow in their footsteps—as it so often does. When we see the US in the news today, stories of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol arresting innocent civilians, forcefully deporting immigrants, and shutting down student protests dominate the headlines. Furthermore, under the European Convention of Human Rights, which we have been subject to since its initial enforcement in 1953, we are obliged to defend the rights of all our citizens.

We also have the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), created in 2006 to reinforce equality and minimise discrimination towards the British people. If Starmer intends to again parallel Trump’s actions in the US and implement equivalents to ICE and Border Patrol, irreparable damage would be done. As much as Starmer may want to protect our relationship with America, this should not come at the cost of our moral and legal duty to protect our own people and their human rights.

Beyond this moral factor, forging our own path apart from Trump would additionally benefit our country from an economic perspective. The new Republican government has demonstrated a callous disregard for our previously prosperous trade relationship, imposing a 10% tariff on UK imports last May—25% for steel and aluminium enforced in July, and with the UK’s agreement, charging 25% more for new medicines, to come into effect in 2035. Whilst the argument of the economic advantages of our relationship with the USA might previously have held weight, considering recent actions since Trump took office, these said advantages have waned significantly.

Should they continue to do so, which evidence supports, our domestic economy will be notably worsened; for our domestic benefit, we must act before this happens. In lieu of America, where do we turn? I would argue the European Union provides a clear alternative.

Regarding human rights, as subjects of the European Convention of Human Rights, our morals are aligned. Moreover, the EU already accounted for 51.7% of the UK’s foreign trade in 2024; leaning further into this existing economic relationship, particularly considering less extreme tariffs on imports than across the pond, would serve us well. Evidence suggests a referendum to rejoin the EU may provide a different result; a YouGov poll from the 29th of January found 55% of participants felt Brexit was a mistake.

Although, some may feel rejoining would render the past decade’s intense focus on the Brexit process useless. In that stead, an alternative would be to follow the path of Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Switzerland in joining the European Single Market (a trading market free from tariffs across Europe) without being an EU member state. This would satisfy our economic quotas for our domestic benefit and strengthen international relations with our European allies without the qualms some may have with being part of the EU itself.

There’s a famous phrase used amongst economists that applies here too: “when America sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold.” Perhaps, if Britain takes the proper precautions, we don’t have to.