Close allies once more

The inauguration of a new America president invariably raises questions about old alliances and new relationships. The received wisdom among critics of Boris Johnson is that his support for Brexit and an apparent cosiness with Donald Trump would see him frozen out by the reconstructed White House. Not a bit of it. Joe Biden’s first call to a European leader was to the Prime Minister, a 35-minute reassertion that the ties between the two countries remain strong.

Mr Biden was vice-president for eight years and, as a seasoned Washington veteran, understands that important international relationships transcend the individual occupants of various posts. The mistake made with Mr Trump by both Theresa May and Mr Johnson was a desire to forge personal bonds with a president who appeared unwilling to nurture the longer-lasting connections between the countries themselves.

Mr Biden’s commitment to multinationalism, in stark contrast to Mr Trump’s “America First” approach, means he will seek to revive the Western alliances of which the UK has always been a pivotal member. A key event this year is the Cop26 UN climate change summit in Glasgow which Mr Biden is committed to support, whereas Mr Trump would have been unlikely to attend.

Much is made with a new president about rekindling “the special relationship” that endured for decades after the Second World War, but whose longevity is often exaggerated. None the less, the White House statement said Mr Biden “conveyed his intention to strengthen the special relationship” and “revitalise transatlantic ties”. The US and the UK share too much in the way of history, security requirements and democratic outlook to be anything other than the closest of allies and so it will remain.