Keir Starmer must play his Brexit ace card in showdown with Donald Trump

When Sir Keir Starmer holds lunchtime talks with Donald Trump in the White House he must play his ace card – .

Britain’s course for the rest of this decade and beyond is on the line in this high stakes showdown with the US President.

Tariffs, a trade deal, global defence, Nato, and China are all on the table.

How the Prime Minister handles the Republican strongman is critical for the UK, our economy and security.

Trump likes to play hardball. Starmer likes to play it straight.

But he does have few aces up his sleeve, which few other major world and European leaders have.

Biggest of all is the fact that Britain is no longer in the EU, despite Starmer’s efforts to stop that from happening.

He needs to use this.

Trump likes and it could shield us from many of the tariffs he is threatening to impose on other countries.

It could also smooth the way for a potential mega-bucks trade deal with America.

Starmer’s dramatic decision to hike defence spending by detonating Foreign Aid has gone down well on the other side of the pond too.

But he will have to walk a tightrope in negotiating the right peace deal for .

Trump’s incendiary remarks about , branding him a “dictator”, and the US backing in votes at the United Nations on are the polar opposite of the Labour leader.

There will be lots to talk about as the two leaders, who are both pretty much guaranteed to be in post for the next four years, chew the fat in Washington.