Boris Johnson. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / POOL / AFP)
Britain on Wednesday insisted its close partnership
with the United States was in safe hands whoever comes out on top
of the tumultuous presidential election while noting disaccord over
the Paris climate pact.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a populist ally of President
Donald Trump, stayed up into the night to follow the results coming
in, according to a Downing Street spokesman.
But Johnson refused to be drawn in parliament when grilled about
the Republican’s premature claim of victory and his intention to
ask the Supreme Court to halt the vote counting.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps came closer to breaching UK
neutrality over the election, in discussing Britain’s support for
action on climate change as it prepares to host a major UN summit
next year.
“One can imagine that one of those candidates would be more
enthusiastic (on climate policy) as president than the other,” he
told ITV News, referring to Democrat Joe Biden.
Former prime minister Theresa May noted that the election
dispute coincided with Trump’s decision to pull the United States
out of the Paris climate accord taking effect on Wednesday.
“We will soon know who will be the next US president. But,
sadly, today also marks the US leaving the Paris accord — the
world’s foremost attempt to build consensus on climate change,” she
tweeted.
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“Whoever is elected has an immense responsibility to help tackle
our planet’s greatest challenge.”
Britain is due next year to convene the UN’s COP 26 climate
summit, and Johnson’s spokesman said the government was looking
forward to a “successful hosting” of the multinational meeting,
which has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Obviously we’ve made clear to the US administration throughout
this process that we remain firm supporters of the Paris
Agreement,” the spokesman told reporters.
He added that the transatlantic relationship would “go from
strength to strength whichever candidate wins the election”.
“Across trade, security, intelligence, defence, innovation and
culture, few countries do more together.”
For his part, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: “I’m not
worried about the relationship.”
“The contours of the opportunities and the risks always shift a
little bit, but that needs to be set against the context of this
bedrock and this wider set of interests which are so strong,” he
told Sky News.
Raab also downplayed concerns expressed by Biden over the UK’s
plans for Northern Ireland after its Brexit divorce from the
European Union.
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/11/05/uk-says-us-ties-will-go-from-strength-to-strength-whoever-wins/