British minister Wes Streeting has confirmed to the world what many critics of established UK foreign policy have long suspected. The Labour ‘Defence’ Secretary stated in no uncertain terms that the US has ultimate diktat over Britain’s foreign policy decisions.
Amid PM Andy Burnham’s first official visit to the UN General Assembly and meeting with US emperor Donald Trump, his ally Streeting went on BBC. He was asked to “clarify the situation for us” regarding the transfer of possession of the now-notorious Chagos Islands.
The deal, struck last year by Keir Starmer, has become a frequent attack point of the British right. The deal concerning the island archipelago, nearly 6,000 miles way from Britain, was struck with nearby nation-state Mauritius. However, supposedly pro-sovereignty right-wingers abhor the idea that Chagos should not continue under British colonial rule. Among those right-wingers are Donald Trump.
Streeting was asked if the Chagos deal is now under review. His answer left no room for doubt:
Yes, we have to, because the United States doesn’t support it…
So, there we have it. British foreign policy is not decided in London, but rather in Washington D.C. If anyone had any lingering doubts, old Wes has cleared them up nicely for us.
Britains independent foreign policy on display:
“Are you reviewing that [Chagos Island] deal?”
Wes Streeting: “Yes we have to because the United States doesn’t support it” pic.twitter.com/t5fRCluuRD
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) September 23, 2026
Streeting confirms political right-wing US vassalage
The subservience of the Labour right wing to US foreign policy interests is nothing new. Tony Blair displayed, and displays, impeccable compliance with American imperial power. This mantle was taken up by Trump’s paper-picker Keir Starmer in Iran and Palestine. It’s now Burnham’s to carry.
It’s no surprise that Burnham’s reboot — admitted slyly by Labour insiders and public-facing politicians to be a continuity government — is continuing this trend. He just does so with better ‘vibes’ PR.
Beyond the TikToks, not much has changed. He continues arming and aiding Israel in its genocidal wars, despite “largely symbolic” sanctions on Israeli settler terrorism. So too is he now following the sordid Tory tradition of enabling Saudis to bomb impoverished Yemeni civilians. And now Chagos.
Right-wing subordination to US foreign policy is truly hegemonic. See Farage and Badenoch cheering on the criminally murderous and globally disastrous US-Zionist war on Iran. Or Richard Tice’s undeclared £50,000 trip to the Zionist occupation state, with ‘Reform Friends of Israel‘ joining their Tory and Labour equals. See their Trump-friendly, oily climate falsehoods. And their comfort with fire-selling vital parts of the British state to US corporations. Across the board, it’s a pattern of policy outsourced to the US.
It’s no wonder that author Angus Hanton labels the UK a ‘Vassal State’ of the US. It’s no surprise that Burnham is now cowing to this normalised political stranglehold. And it should come as no surprise, in our era of mask-off imperialism, that Wes Streeting so readily admits to it all.
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