US Vice President JD Vance has described British politics as “broken”, arguing that the country’s rapid turnover of prime ministers signals a far deeper economic failure.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, Vance said political instability in Britain was a symptom of long-term economic decline rather than simply a string of ineffective leaders.
“What I see is six prime ministers in the last few years,” he said. “What that says to me is that something is very broken about British politics and that people are really crying out for significant structural change.”
Vance added that Britain had “been failed by its leadership for a long time”, and said he hoped whoever succeeds Keir Starmer would “get Britain back on track.”
Starmer announced he would step down after less than two years in office, paving the way for Andy Burnham to become Britain’s seventh prime minister in just over a decade.
Burnham emerged as Labour’s sole leadership candidate, positioning himself as the figure to deliver the structural reform that Vance and others argue the country urgently needs.
Vance’s sharpest words were directed at Britain’s underlying economic model, which he argued had prioritised short-term consumption over productive industrial investment.
“If you have an economy built around consumption, you ought not be surprised when your workers’ skills atrophy and your manufacturing base disappears,” he said during the interview.
The remarks reflect a broader economic worldview gaining ground inside the Trump administration, which has consistently championed domestic manufacturing and strategic supply chains over services-led globalisation.
Britain’s productivity has largely flatlined since the 2008 financial crisis, and manufacturing has steadily shrunk as a share of the wider economy over recent decades.
Official data showed UK GDP slipped by 0.1 per cent in April, after energy price shocks linked to conflict in the Middle East weighed on both households and businesses.
Services output fell 0.2 per cent during the same period, while manufacturing stagnated and economists warned that geopolitical uncertainty could further squeeze corporate investment later this year.
Despite stronger-than-expected first-quarter growth, economists expect much of that momentum to unwind as higher energy prices and weaker global demand feed through.
Burnham has pledged to deliver “good growth in every postcode” through what he described as the biggest transfer of power from Whitehall in modern times.
The incoming prime minister has promised to devolve tax-raising powers to regions, relocate parts of No 10 to Manchester, and use partnerships between government, local authorities, business and pension funds to drive investment.
Burnham has argued Britain needs “a change in how the country is governed, not just who governs it”, committing to a decade-long programme focused on regional growth and industrial investment.
He has also moved to reassure City investors that any reforms would remain within Labour’s fiscal rules, amid concerns over how a more interventionist industrial strategy would be funded.
Vance stopped short of endorsing Burnham personally, telling the paper: “I don’t know a lot about Andy Burnham.”
However, he stressed that Britain remained “one of our closest and most important allies”, adding: “Whoever is the prime minister, we’re going to work with them and work with them as successfully as we can.”