UK parties unite in urging Trump to rethink Musk’s meddling

LONDON – Senior politicians in three of Britain’s biggest parties have privately urged Donald Trump’s allies to reconsider his relationship with Mr Elon Musk, after the billionaire Tesla boss made a series of increasingly inflammatory remarks about UK politics, including endorsing a figure on the far right.

In a barrage of posts on his social media platform X over the past week, Mr Musk has called for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to be imprisoned, urged the release from jail of right-wing activist Tommy Robinson, and – perhaps most surprising of all –

called for the replacement of one-time ally

and Trump friend Nigel Farage as leader of the Reform UK party.

On Jan 6, he pinned a post to his profile polling whether “America should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government.”

Now, Mr Starmer’s Labour government, the Conservative opposition and Reform are all questioning whether the alliance between Mr Musk and the US President-elect can last, according to people familiar with the thinking at the top of the three parties, who requested anonymity disclosing private conversations.

In discussions with Trump’s allies in recent days, some suggested that Mr Musk’s social media posts were damaging the incoming president’s reputation even among his friends and supporters in Britain.

That three parties which took a combined 72 per cent of the vote in last July’s general election and have jostled for the lead in recent polls are all warning Trump about Mr Musk highlights the risk posed to the so-called “special” UK-US relationship by the maverick billionaire.

Mr Musk is set to take

a key role advising the new administration

when Trump takes office later in January, and his meddling in British politics is unprecedented in recent times by such a senior US figure.

Trump-Vance transition spokesperson Brian Hughes reaffirmed the president-elect’s backing for Mr Musk, saying the two men were “great friends” and calling the billionaire “a once in a generation business leader” whose ideas would benefit the US administration.

A spokesman for Mr Musk’s X platform didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The UK’s complaints about Mr Musk come amid signs of simmering discontent among some Trump supporters about his influence in the incoming US administration.

That spilled into the open in December when several criticised his backing for a skilled worker visa programme popular among big tech companies, prompting the president-elect to weigh in behind him.

Trump has so far said little about Mr Musk’s political moves in Europe, and last week denounced the UK’s tax on North Sea oil-and-gas producers as a “big mistake.”

One person with close links to both the president-elect’s world and British politics said Mr Musk’s fallout with Mr Farage this weekend led them to predict his bond with Trump would soon sour, as well.

Some of Trump’s allies had expressed concern about Mr Musk’s online activity in conversations with their UK counterparts, they said.

Another British politician close to Trump’s team said they were worried Mr Musk had got above his station and had concluded he now posed a risk to the president-elect.

Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats – the third-biggest party in the House of Commons who took 12 per cent of the vote in July, also chimed in on Jan 6, with party leader Ed Davey saying in a statement that “people have had enough of Elon Musk interfering with our country’s democracy when he clearly knows nothing about Britain.”

Those views represent a rare unity in Britain when it comes to US politics and Trump.

It follows a months-long barrage of social media posts by Mr Musk that escalated in the past week into vitriolic attacks on Mr Starmer over his

handling of a child sex abuse scandal in Britain

, both now and when he was the country’s chief prosecutor more than a decade ago.

“Even with his considerable reach and closeness to President-elect Trump, Musk might find himself less able to influence mainstream political views after the falling out with Farage,” pollster Scarlett Maguire from JL Partners told Bloomberg.

Since Mr Starmer’s Labour won the general election last July, the Trump ally has repeatedly railed against his administration, stoking tensions during riots over the summer and then accusing the new government of suppressing freedom of speech after far-right rioters were jailed following the disorder. 

Mr Musk has also in recent days questioned Mr Starmer’s actions in his role as Director of Public Prosecutions before entering politics, saying he’s “complicit” in a child abuse scandal in British towns and saying he and Home Office Minister Jess Phillips should be in jail.

Mr Musk had endorsed Reform’s Mr Farage, leading to speculation that he could make a sizable donation to an opponent of the Labour government.

Mr Farage visited Mr Musk in Mar-a-Lago in December as their alliance appeared to grow.

But in a twist over the weekend, that bond appeared to break after Mr Musk endorsed Mr Robinson, a far-right activist from whom Mr Farage has long distanced himself.

Mr Farage said he didn’t agree with Mr Musk’s support for Mr Robinson, leading to Mr Musk turning on the Reform leader, posting on Jan 5 that he didn’t “have what it takes” to lead the party.

“Although Reform UK no doubt welcomed the spotlight his platform gave the party and the issues it wishes to campaign on, his continuing endorsement could have proved a double-edged sword in their pursuit to be the main voice of the centre-right in the UK,” Ms Maguire said.

To be sure, the apparent fallout between Mr Musk and Mr Farage may not necessarily be permanent, with some in Reform hoping relations can be smoothed over.

Speaking to LBC on Jan 7 morning, Mr Farage said he hoped to “mend” relations with Mr Musk in an apparent effort to avoid further escalation of their row, repeating his previous assertion that he is a “hero.” 

“I have no desire to go to war with Elon Musk,” Mr Farage said, while stressing that the billionaire’s support was “not crucial” to his party and that he would not change his position on Mr Robinson.

Nevertheless, the sudden split appeared to have given Mr Starmer confidence to respond to Mr Musk’s attacks, which he did on Jan 6, telling journalists that a “line had been crossed” by his rhetoric. BLOOMBERG