Keir Starmer is facing a backlash for his lack of a response to Elon Musk’s persistent attacks on the UK since the tech tycoon secured a job with Donald Trump.
The CEO of X started to criticise Starmer’s government in the summer by perpetuating the “two-tier policing” conspiracy theory amid the far-right riots.
He then mocked the PM’s approval ratings, slammed the Budget and called the UK a “tyrannical police state”.
Starmer’s spokesperson did tell Musk in the summer there was “no justification for comments like that” after he claimed “civil war is inevitable” in the UK.
But No.10 has fallen quiet ever since the president-elect appointed Musk as the co-head of a task force known as Department of Government Efficiency – and the government is desperate to boost relations with a Trump-led White House.
However, Carla Denyer MP, co-leader of the Green Party, told HuffPost UK it should be a “no-brainer” for Starmer to put Musk in his place.
She said: “Elon Musk’s ramblings are getting more outlandish and alarming by the day.
“And he will no doubt be demanding his reward for helping Trump back into the White House.
“The lack of criticism from the UK government over both Trump’s and Musk’s recent comments suggest Starmer may be hedging his bets on which way to turn - across the pond to the White House, or over the channel to Brussels.
“This should be a no-brainer.
“Our economic interests, our core values and ethics, not to mention our joint commitment to tackle the climate and nature crises, mean we must distance ourself from the Trump-Musk axis and strengthen our relationship with our European partners.”
When asked about Musk’s claim that the UK was a “tyrannical police state” on Monday, Starmer’s spokesperson said: “I’m not going to be drawn on individual comments.”
He added: “We have a government elected on pledge to take back our streets. That is an absolute priority.”
Pressed on Musk’s remarks, he said No.10 is not concerned, adding: “We’ve said before we look forward to working with President Trump and his entire team.”
Asked if it was time for peace talks with the tech mogul, the spokesperson replied: “The PM looks forward to working together to deepen and develop the US-UK relationship across trade and defence.”