As an American who reveres our English inheritance — liberty under law, Shakespeare and Churchill, Magna Carta—I’ve often dreamed of making a life in Britain. So imagine my intrigue when I came across The Guardian’s May 24 report of record numbers of Americans moving to the UK.
But here’s the irony: for someone drawn to Britain for its proud history and character, Keir Starmer’s version of the country is the last place I’d want to call home.
The Britain I’ve long admired is a beacon of resolve. It built an empire, stood alone against Hitler, and birthed the rule of law. It’s the Britain of Thatcher’s grit, Orwell’s clarity, and a people who believe in freedom, enterprise, and nationhood. That Britain inspired America’s rise. It gave us the foundational principles we still cherish: individual liberty, common law, the defiant spirit of sovereignty.
But under Starmer, that vision is fading fast.
Even across the Atlantic, we see a country staggering under the weight of policies that elevate global applause over national interest. His government is squandering economic resilience, diluting cultural identity, and backtracking on Britain’s hard-won sovereignty. This isn’t the Britain I dreamed of. It’s a cautionary tale.
Americans fleeing Donald Trump for Keir Starmer’s Britain face a cautionary tale upon arrival - Lee Cohen
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Let’s start with the economy. Starmer’s Labour is smothering growth with high taxes and even higher debt. Thirty-year gilt yields are now at their highest since 2008, pushing up mortgage rates and crushing business confidence. Homeowners are reeling. Entrepreneurs are demoralised.
Add to this a barrage of anti-growth measures—a “jobs tax,” a “family farms tax,” and cuts to winter fuel payments for pensioners—while simultaneously flinging billions in climate aid abroad. This isn’t progress. It’s economic vandalism.
For an American who’s watched our own economy stirred by a pro-growth administration, the contrast is staggering. We’re slashing red tape and reindustrialising.
Britain, meanwhile, is strangling its wealth creators and punishing the very people who built the country’s prosperity. What a betrayal of the entrepreneurial spirit I’ve always admired in the UK.
Culturally, Starmer’s Britain feels unrecognisable. Immigration is now so out of control that it's reshaping the national fabric. Yet Starmer has ruled out a legally binding cap. He’s dismissed calls to end automatic citizenship routes. And when asked about immigration laws, his reflex is to brand enforcement as racist. A country once defined by clear borders and a confident identity now seems embarrassed by both.
It’s no wonder Britain appears adrift—no longer sure of what it stands for, or even who it is. This erosion is heartbreaking. The Britain I love is a proud, singular nation, not a globalised shadow.
And then there’s the issue that, to an American steeped in nation first values, is most unforgivable: free speech. Once the home of Mill and Locke, Britain is now earning comparisons to authoritarian regimes. Elon Musk and JD Vance are among those alarmed by the UK’s online censorship laws and heavy-handed policing. Free expression—once a British export—is being throttled. If Britain no longer believes in liberty, what’s left?
Starmer’s foreign policy is equally dismaying. The Chagos Islands surrender is an act of strategic self-harm—a costly move that undermines Britain’s military presence in the Indian Ocean. That’s capitulation. Meanwhile, Labour's overtures to the EU represent a blatant betrayal of the 2016 Brexit mandate.
Starmer may not say the word “rejoin,” but every action suggests a creeping realignment that makes Britain look like a penitent former member, begging for relevance.
And here’s the bitter irony: many of those Americans fleeing Trump’s America in favour of Britain will arrive only to find that Starmer’s Britain mirrors the very dysfunction they hoped to escape. Bloated bureaucracy. Border chaos. Fiscal irresponsibility. Cultural incoherence.
Polls show the disillusionment is real. By February 2025, Starmer’s net favourability was down to -34. His own side accuses him of vacuity. Cronyism scandals, net zero pipe dreams, and a leadership style that confuses blandness for competence have all fuelled a growing sense that Labour is squandering its moment. This isn’t a government. It’s a holding pattern.
So for now, my dream of crossing the Atlantic is on hold.
Fortunately, we have Donald Trump running things here—a president who understands borders, believes in national pride, and doesn’t shrink from confronting global threats. That may offend polite liberal sensibilities, but the results speak for themselves. America, under Trump, is a country determined to stand tall. Britain, under Starmer, is clearly one in retreat.
It gives me no joy to say that. I want to see Britain thrive. I want the country that shaped the modern world to recover its courage and sense of self. I want to believe again in the promise of a shared destiny between our two nations—partners in liberty, not passengers on a ship of decline.
But until Britain reclaims its soul—its sovereignty, its spirit, its unapologetic belief in itself—I’ll stay put. Not because I’ve given up on Britain, but because I know it can be more than Starmer’s grey and globalist shadow.
The dream is alive. But for now, it sleeps.
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