Donald Trump has said it would be “very hard” for Jeremy Corbyn to seek a vote of no-confidence in Boris Johnson as the new prime minister is “exactly what the UK has been looking for”.
The president’s tweet came after it was revealed that the government had asked the Queen to suspend parliament in September just days after MPs return to Westminster.
Johnson claimed the decision to ‘prorogue parliament’ was to allow him to set out a fresh domestic agenda in a new Queen’s speech on October 14.
But the move – which has sent shockwaves through UK politics – has been interpreted by critics as a bid by the prime minister to kill off MPs’ attempts to block a no-deal Brexit.
The likelihood of MPs tabling a motion of no-confidence in Johnson when parliament returns is now thought to be much higher. If the PM loses, MPs could form an alternative government and a new PM.
Corbyn, as leader of the largest opposition party, has said he would try to win a confidence vote.
But in a tweet on Wednesday, Trump backed the prime minister’s chances.
The president wrote: “Would be very hard for Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s Labour Party, to seek a no-confidence vote against New Prime Minister Boris Johnson, especially in light of the fact that Boris is exactly what the U.K has been looking for, & will prove ‘a great one!’”
“Love U.K.” he added.
Corbyn hit back, saying: “I think what the US president is saying, is that Boris Johnson is exactly what he has been looking for, a compliant prime minister who will hand Britain’s public services and protections over to US corporations in a free trade deal.”
Trump’s vice president Mike Pence is set to travel to the UK next week for talks with Johnson. In a tweet earlier this month, Pence said the trip was to “reaffirm our two nations’ enduring and unbreakable special relationship”.