2026 has gotten off to a horrendous start, with the US violating its neighbours and murdering its own citizens. History will look back at these events as the actions of a rogue state which has fully embraced its worse tendencies. Politicians of the moment, meanwhile, have looked to Donald Trump and cowered. Starmer has been the worst offender for this, which is no doubt why his popularity has yet again fallen:
Latest Opinium @ObserverUK poll
Keir Starmer’s approval rating has fallen to net -46, his joint lowest score ever.
It matches Theresa May’s historic low in May 2019.
A difficult start to 2026 for the prime minister. pic.twitter.com/x6Lv9UElk2
— Opinium (@OpiniumResearch) January 10, 2026
Weak Starmer
As we reported, Starmer completely failed to call out America abducting president Nicolás Maduro. When the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg asked if he would condemn this action against a sovereign stage, Starmer refused to give a clear answer. Hilariously, he also talked about how much he respected international law:
I then need to speak to president Trump; I need to speak to our allies, umm, but I don’t shy away from this. I’ve been a lifelong advocate of international law, and the importance of compliance with international law, but, umm, I want to ensure that i’ve got all the facts at my disposal, umm, and we haven’t got that at the moment, umm, and we need to get that before we, umm, come to a decision about , umm, the consequences in relation to the actions that have been taken.
The emboldened ‘umms’, by the way, are all the moments when his voice clearly trembled.
Starmer was right to be nervous, as it was easy to predict the public wouldn’t support pointless bloodshed for the benefit of international oil executives:
Public opinion is divided on US military action in Venezuela, but opposition outweighs support:
36% oppose the action
22% support it pic.twitter.com/r6pN7VwsmR
— Opinium (@OpiniumResearch) January 10, 2026
Just 9% of the British public think the US action in Venezuela was legal.
41% believe it was illegal, with many others unsure on its legality. pic.twitter.com/xosbwj8BSJ
— Opinium (@OpiniumResearch) January 10, 2026
Starmer was also incredibly weak on Trump’s threats against Greenland — certainly to begin with. After initially refusing to condemn the US overthrowing a NATO member state, Starmer eventually adopted a more normal response:
“The future of Greenland is for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark alone.”#UK #Greenland #Denmark #Trump pic.twitter.com/GLxg2W7g94
— TheWarPolitics (@TheWarPolitics0) January 5, 2026
Now, more and more Britons are coming to see the US as a threat:
A third (32%) of the public now see the US as a threat to the UK.
This is the highest level since the immediate aftermath of the tariff war.
Only 42% now think the US is an ally. pic.twitter.com/4TMeomMZoi
— Opinium (@OpiniumResearch) January 10, 2026
Untenable
We’re in a bad moment here in the UK. We’ve got a historically weak and unpopular prime minister at the same time that we’ve got a historically unpredictable and hostile US president. In other words, add it to the list of reasons why Starmer cannot remain in power.
Featured image via Heute
By Willem Moore
This post was originally published on Canary.