The global security situation is evolving into a Hollywood hostage movie. Europe, NATO and the UK face a daily round of abusive behaviour from across ‘The Pond’. For the UK, whose national security is intimately bound up with the so-called ‘special relationship’, it’s suffering all the usual reactions of an abused spouse – shock, horror and the rapid realisation that all your worldly goods are intertwined with someone that gives you little dignity or respect.
How did America turn on its closest friend?
NATO, the mainstay of the international post-war order, is in peril. It comprises 32 members: 30 in Europe, two in North America. Like the Three Musketeers it was supposed to be ‘All for one and one for all’. Except one of the musketeers just checked out and seems to think military manoeuvres around Greenland is a threat to its own imperial territorial ambitions. How do you run a playground when the monitor is the biggest bully?
Then there’s the EU and its response to the serious intent to buy, steal or invade Greenland by the US, depending on the preferred US ‘deal’. Its stance of upholding the rules-based order and collective security guarantees has only produced yet more petulant Trumpian rhetoric and more tariffs. How do you deal politely with an oversized toddler?
Which leaves us with the British response. Starmer has stated explicitly that the Greenland situation requires a calm, measured tone in a valued partnership. This may be the equivalent of saying you are fine after being bludgeoned, but victims know that enraging an aggressor only antagonises them.
So, what can we do? First admit that what was special is now an abusive relationship. There is no-one coming to save us but ourselves. Then work out how best to secure our interests before leaving for a safe space.
A risky divorce
What is at risk in this divorce? The UK is highly dependent on, and enmeshed with, the US. For our defence, we share equipment and command structures with the US, there are military bases located around the UK that include communications stations and electronic intelligence gathering.
While the US provides significant technical support for the UK’s Trident nuclear missile system – even though its operational prowess is patchy – the UK maintains operational independence for launch decisions.
Over a third of our fighter jets won’t fly without US software updates. The UK and the US are part of the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance, which evolved from WWII Bletchley code-breaking efforts. Together these capabilities underpin both US and UK security.
The costs
Economically, the stakes are high. The US has remained the UK’s biggest inward investor at over 30%, although this figure has fallen for the last four successive years. The value of the stock of inward FDI invested in the UK was £2.1 trillion in 2024.
The Starmer government has placed great store on increasing inward investment especially from the technology sector. That translates into jobs at data centres, life sciences and manufacturing, defence and aerospace and financial services. £150 billion investment is the last ‘deal’ announced in September 2025.
Our key sector, finance, has many US actors. Global banks have consolidated into a small group of intertwined institutions. Around 170 foreign banks operate in London, holding over half of all regulated capital in the UK. Global asset management is concentrated in the hands of four US-based giants – one of which, BlackRock, has a heavy presence in the UK, and has a critical relationship with the current UK government.
Technologically we are increasingly an American colony – our data centres, critical business software and even our cyber-security relies on US corporates. From Amazon and others hosting thousands of businesses, billions are returned to the US from subscriptions ranging from Microsoft 365, Adobe and leisure platforms like Netflix and Disney+.
Even the government is not immune. Based on recent data, UK public sector bodies alone spend approximately £10 billion ($13.6 billion) annually with US companies on subscriptions, projected to rise towards £12 billion annually over the next five years.
Our politics on the right is drenched in US influence. From the outright funding of UK-based political think tanks and the increasing right-wing influence over social media like X, American right-wing ideology and agendas are sprinkled across the spectrum. Along with other hostile actors like Russia, there are overt attempts to promote far-right narratives and stoke social divisions. Indeed under Trump it is now official US state policy to promote regime change and install far-right parties across Europe.
Has the UK options?
Where does all this leave Starmer and Britain? We must act very carefully but there are building blocks we must take towards greater independence from the US.
First, rebuild our relationship with Europe by entering the Single Market at least. Building the UK’s resilience is going to take money and that needs to come from more exports. Starmer cannot talk growth, independence and rearmament without being closer to Europe. That is the economic strategy equivalent of saving money to flee the house.
Then we must stop digging, use the rupture as a chance to undo recent commitments to use more US-owned technology and infrastructure. Rescind the contract with the US actor Palantir to support the UK military with AI capability, among other government projects. Stop the further dependency on US actors by ensuring the UK Digital ID has UK hosting and service-providers at its core. We must be on a war-footing technologically – ask Ukraine what that means.
Third, build a national cross-party consensus on how to respond to a hostile American administration. Right now, all politicians are playing party ping-pong, which needs to stop. Build a coalition of support for national renewal to ensure cohesion, and to stop working against each other.
Fourth, develop a plan. The country also needs a disentanglement strategy. We are, after all, talking about a divorce, and that is going to need the government to bring in actors outside of the usual suspects. Traditional groupthink is the enemy here. We need fresh ideas and real innovation at pace.
This is not going to be a short-term shift. We are ending the post WWII consensus position of being America’s partner. The world has changed. We have no choice but to recognise the America we believed in has lost its way, and we must find our own way through a complicated and more dangerous world.
Hold our real friends tight and prepare a route to the exit. In this fire, we are on our own and there are no emergency lights to show us the way.
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