‘Brits don’t want to be seen as pushovers’: Two-thirds support retaliatory tariffs against US
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New polling shows two-thirds of Brits are worried about the tariffs Donald Trump imposed on the UK. With support for the "special relationship" waning, how does the public rate Keir Starmer’s response?
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In brief:
- Donald Trump’s 10% tariff on British exports to the US has led to a shift in British sentiment with only 43% of Brits now considering the US an ally and 30% viewing Trump personally as an enemy.
- Two-thirds of Brits are worried about the impact of these tariffs, with 51% favouring retaliatory measures against the US, even if it means increased inflation at home.
- Despite public opinion favouring a more aggressive response, Keir Starmer's conciliatory approach has seen his approval ratings rise, with 45% of Brits giving him some credit for securing a lower tariff rate compared to other countries.
What’s the story?
Are tariffs your favourite word in the dictionary yet? Or is that still just Trump?
No country is unaffected by Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs - except, maybe, Russia - and while each country grapples with what this means for its businesses, the economy and cost of living, Britain is certainly not immune to the effects.
On ‘liberation day’ the President announced Britain would face a 10% tariff on all exports to the United States - not as high as China’s ever-growing figure, not as low as nothing at all.
The impact will be felt not only on Britain’s bank balance, but also on its sentiment towards the country we have for so long had a ‘special relationship’ with.
New polling from More In Common suggests that our friends across the pond might not get a Christmas card this year, with only 43% of Brits now considering the US to be an ally.
Moreover, when asked specifically about Donald Trump and whether he was an ally or an enemy of the UK, people were more likely to say he is an enemy (30%), compared to an ally (28%). 33% said he’s neither.
The figure becomes magnified when compared to Britain's opinion on the new Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who 70% called an ally of the UK.
The number of Brits calling Trump an ally dipped dramatically after his disastrous Oval Office meeting with President Zelensky – Luke Tryl, director of More In Common, explains – but has continued to lower since his tariffs announcement.
Tryl says we are seeing a “really big shift, basically since the Trump presidency began”.
A dive into how the British public is feeling about the new tariffs imposed and Keir Starmer’s response to them, helps to explain why.
What’s the story?
Are tariffs your favourite word in the dictionary yet? Or is that still just Trump?
No country is unaffected by Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs - except, maybe, Russia - and while each country grapples with what this means for its businesses, the economy and cost of living, Britain is certainly not immune to the effects.
On ‘liberation day’ the President announced Britain would face a 10% tariff on all exports to the United States - not as high as China’s ever-growing figure, not as low as nothing at all.
The impact will be felt not only on Britain’s bank balance, but also on its sentiment towards the country we have for so long had a ‘special relationship’ with.
New polling from More In Common suggests that our friends across the pond might not get a Christmas card this year, with only 43% of Brits now considering the US to be an ally.
Moreover, when asked specifically about Donald Trump and whether he was an ally or an enemy of the UK, people were more likely to say he is an enemy (30%), compared to an ally (28%). 33% said he’s neither.
The figure becomes magnified when compared to Britain's opinion on the new Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney, who 70% called an ally of the UK.
The number of Brits calling Trump an ally dipped dramatically after his disastrous Oval Office meeting with President Zelensky – Luke Tryl, director of More In Common, explains – but has continued to lower since his tariffs announcement.
Tryl says we are seeing a “really big shift, basically since the Trump presidency began”.
A dive into how the British public is feeling about the new tariffs imposed and Keir Starmer’s response to them, helps to explain why.
Two-thirds of Brits support retaliatory tariffs against US, new polling reveals
How does the UK feel about Trump’s tariffs?
Tariffs are - as Keir Starmer said in his speech yesterday (7 April) - not welcome, and while the country would no doubt be better off without them, the UK got off relatively lightly with a 10% baseline tariff compared to other county’s larger numbers of upwards of 40%.
But any sigh of relief Brits let out when they saw the figure plastered on Trump’s chart in the White House rose garden was not free from significant concern alongside it.
New polling from More in Common reveals that two thirds of the country say tariffs are on their ‘worry list’, a figure that Tryl says would have been “unimaginable” last year.
He adds that the biggest fear for Brits is that tariffs will be the latest disruptive thing in a long line of upsets that have impacted their lives in the last decade; Brexit, the Russia-Ukraine war, the pandemic.
“For lots of people life and the world feels like this rollercoaster, which is constantly going downwards and they can't catch a break,” Tryl says.
With two thirds of Brits worried about the blow to British exports, it’s possibly no surprise that polling also shows that a large portion think we need to do something about it.
“Brits really don't want to be seen as a pushover,” Tryl says.
Starmer may have chosen to keep a cool head, but public opinion suggests they’d rather he put up a fight, with 51% of Brits polled saying the UK should retaliate with our own tariffs on the US.
“That doesn't suggest hopelessness, that suggests something that feels like, ‘we want to kick him where it hurts’,” Emily Maitlis comments.
The extent to which Brits value not being seen as a pushover really comes to light when asked whether they’d still support tariffs even if it meant inflation going up and making things worse at home.
“People still said yes,” Tryl says.
Is Starmer doing a good job?
The PM’s approval ratings have been on a downward trajectory since his election win last July, and while Rachel Reeves’ approval numbers continue to dip, Starmer’s have started to jump a little higher.
This is somewhat “paradoxical,” Jon Sopel points out, given that public opinion shows a desire to retaliate - the opposite of Starmer’s playbook.
“Keir starmer's approach has been to play it very cool, to play it very long, to be conciliatory, and his poll ratings have gone up.”
The figures might suggest that Starmer has got the balance of pushing back and playing it cool, just right.
“The public want Starmer to be pragmatic,” Tryl explains.
“They don't want him to blow everything up and make things worse. But they also don't like the idea of Britain just being the poodle that goes along with what everyone else wants.”
The increase in approval rating could also be put down to Brits giving Starmer credit for the fact that the UK has got a lower rate of tariffs, 45% say he is ‘somewhat’ or ‘almost entirely’ responsible for, while 36% think that he was not responsible.
Unsurprisingly, Labour voters are the most likely to give the PM credit. However, 40% of Conservative voters and 43% of Reform voters also agree that he is - to some extent - responsible for the better deal.
Tryl says that given his popularity so “underwater”, the fact that you've got nearly 50% of the country saying this is at least in some part, thanks to the PM, is a win for him.
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