Britain ‘failed by its leadership for a long time’, says US vice president

Britain is “amazing” but has been “failed by its leadership for a long time”, US vice president JD Vance has said.

The churn of prime ministers in recent years indicated “something is very broken about British politics and that people are really crying out for significant structural change”, according to the White House second-in-command.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Mr Vance, who has been critical of the UK most notably over migration, also acknowledged he could be “provocative” in his comments but that they were made “from a perspective of love and admiration”.

He said he does not know Andy Burnham, currently in line to be the UK’s seventh prime minister in 10 years with the departure of Sir Keir Starmer, but that the US will work with whoever is leader “as successfully as we can”.

The interview with Mr Vance was published as the US celebrated the 250th anniversary of America’s independence from Britain on July 4.

Mr Vance, whose wife Usha studied at Cambridge University, told The Sunday Times: “I have a special affection for Britain.

“If I’m being honest, I think, as much as I care about it for reasons of mutual interest – and American alliances – I also just care about it because Britain feels more culturally familiar to me than any country on Earth, aside from my own.”

Expressing concern over the revolving door at Downing Street, Mr Vance said: “What I see is six prime ministers in the last few years.

“What that says to me is that something is very broken about British politics and that people are really crying out for significant structural change.

“I hope that Andy Burnham – and if not Andy Burnham, somebody else – is able to deliver it. Because Britain is such a beautiful country, such an amazing place.”

However, he said the country had “been failed by its leadership for a long time.”

Of Sir Keir’s likely successor, whom Donald Trump has branded “extremely liberal”, Mr Vance said: “I don’t know a lot about Andy Burnham.

“Obviously, Britain is one of our closest and most important allies. So whoever is the prime minister, we’re going to work with them and work with them as successfully as we can.”

The vice-president has previously sparked controversy by his remarks about the UK.

Last month, Mr Vance said there should be “righteous anger” in response to the murder of student Henry Nowak in Southampton, which he blamed on “the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants”.

His intervention led to a rebuke from Number 10, which hit out at “people trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets”.

The US State Department headed by Marco Rubio had also linked “two-tier policing” to Mr Nowak’s death, which was rejected by Downing Street.

Just weeks earlier, Mr Vance urged anti-immigration protesters in the UK to “keep on going” and called on Britain to follow America in protecting its borders.

The Catholic politician has also in the past accused the UK of curbing free speech over abortion clinic buffer zones.

Explaining his stance, Mr Vance said: “To the extent that the president or I, or secretary Rubio, are going into European institutions and encouraging people to be better, it comes from a perspective of love and admiration.

“Even though sometimes what we say is provocative.”

Meanwhile, Mr Trump used the Fourth of July celebrations to take another sideswipe at his transatlantic allies.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, the president said: “Europe is learning that when you take in Third World criminals, you become a Third World Country. It happens quickly, in just a blink of the eye. I was elected just in time!!!”