While 53% of Britons still consider the US to be an ally or friendly rival, this has fallen from 67% in December
For much of the post-war period, the US has fostered strong links with European countries, especially on issues of defence and security. Central to this has been the so-called ‘special relationship’ between the US and the UK. But the Trump administration’s policies on Ukraine and NATO have led to transatlantic relationships being reassessed.
New YouGov research finds a slim majority of Britons (53%) still see the US as either a ‘a friend and ally’ or ‘friendly rival’ to Britain and other European countries. However, this is a significant fall from the 67% who believed this last December. Although there have previously been ebbs and flows in the relationship, this is the lowest proportion of Britons seeing it in positive terms since YouGov began asking this question in 2019.
Just a third (33%) of the British public now explicitly identify the US as both a ‘friend and ally’ towards Britain and Europe, down from 42% in December.
By contrast, the proportion of Britons saying that the US has a generally ‘unfriendly’ relationship with Britain and Europe has increased from 9% to 19%, while the number viewing the US as ‘a hostile threat’ has risen from 3% to 11%. Both are the highest levels recorded since YouGov started asking the question six years ago. The 30% of Britons feeling the US has a negative attitude towards Britain and Europe is noticeably higher than the previous peak of 18% in November 2019.
Belief that the US has a positive relationship with Britain has fallen among voters of all major parties. While two-thirds (67%) of Labour voters saw America as generally an ally or friendly rival to the UK and Europe in December, just half (51%) say so today. Similarly, the number of Lib Dem voters seeing the relationship in positive terms has fallen from 71% to 54%.
The drop has been sharpest among Conservative voters, with the 64% who currently see the US an ally or friendly rival 21-points lower than the 85% who said so in December. Reform UK voters are now most likely to class the relationship as at least friendly, with 69% currently doing so, but this is 13-points lower than three months ago.
Who is Britain's closest ally?
British leaders have long talked of the ‘special relationship’ the UK has with the US, often painting the country as Britain’s closest friend and ally. But the public are largely sceptical of such a sentiment, with just one in six (17%) identifying the US as Britain’s closest ally at present.
America’s main competition for this spot in the eyes of the public is France, who one in seven (15%) Britons see as the UK’s current closest friend and ally. Commonwealth partners Australia and Canada are seen as occupying the position by 6% and 7% of the public respectively, while 3% of Britons see each of Ireland and Ukraine as the UK’s strongest international relationship.
Four in ten Britons (41%), however, said they did not know which country they would consider to be Britain’s closest friend or ally.
Reform UK voters are most likely to see the US as Britain’s closest ally, with 34% seeing it as such, compared to 16% of Conservatives, 15% of Labour voters and 8% of Lib Dems. By contrast, 23% of Labour and Lib Dem voters give the title to France, relative to 13% of Conservatives and 6% of Reform UK voters.
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Photo: Getty
