In a BBC discussion on Trump’s threats against Greenland, Green Party deputy Mothin Ali has argued Starmer needs to ‘show some backbone’.

“When we talk about bold leadership, we’re ready to take on the billionaires. The Conservatives and the Labour Party, they’re just not willing — they don’t have the backbone to stand up to them.”

Green Party Co-Deputy Leader @MothinAli on #BBCAQ pic.twitter.com/FkcOheP1id

— The Green Party (@TheGreenParty) January 17, 2026

It comes as Starmer has pledged to send a single soldier to defend Greenland against the threat of a US military invasion.

Greenland

While Trump has long spoken about annexing the island, he seems to be taking the idea more seriously since he kidnapped Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Initially, Starmer refused to take any sort of stance on Trump’s threat to annex Greenland. While Starmer has now adopted a clearer position, many are saying it doesn’t go far enough.

As Joe Glenton reported for the Canary on 15 January:

Keir Starmer has sent one single military officer to Greenland with the new European deployment there. The Danes have increased their footprint amid US president Trump’s threats to annex the Arctic island. Greenland is effectively governed by Denmark, but Trump wants to make it an American outpost for ‘security’ reasons.

The news comes after Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen met Trump in Washington on 15 January. She said it was “not an easy meeting”.

In an attempt to convince the Americans they do not need to annex Greenland, the Danes have expanded their military presence. The French, Swedes, Dutch and Canadians are all joining a major military exercise too.

In the BBC discussion, Ali said:

I think anything that Donald Trump is saying at the moment should worry us all. And this is where Keir Starmer should be showing some leadership. He should be showing some backbone and actually standing up to Donald Trump.

The audience applauded before Ali continued:

Greenlanders should be able to decide their own future. And that’s why I’m going to take exception to what [Emily Thornberry – Labour MP] just said. She said if Donald Trump wants to build more army bases there, he should just go ahead. That’s up to the Greenlanders. That’s up to Denmark…

whether they’re willing to accept it, that’s up to them, not up to Donald Trump… threatening down the barrel of a gun.

At this point, Thornberry clarified:

Sorry, you misunderstood me, I did mean with their consent.

Ali continued:

with his economic threats, his military threats, I don’t think they’ve been given a choice at the moment. They’ve been backed into a corner, and that’s not the way a responsible leader behaves.

Featured image via YouTube

By Willem Moore

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