Starmer's superpower: soft power?

Maga arrived in Chipping Norton this week, heralding an intense round of British diplomacy ahead of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday. Ukraine is top of the agenda and both Prime Minister Keir Starmer and foreign secretary David Lammy have been doing their bit liaising between US vice-president JD Vance and President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders. In this week’s episode, host George Parker is joined by Europe editor Ben Hall and Whitehall editor David Sheppard to discuss how the UK is playing its hand on the global stage and the role of soft power in its negotiations.

The FT Weekend Festival returns for our 10th edition on Saturday September 6 at Kenwood House Gardens in London. Get details and tickets here

Follow George on Bluesky or X: @georgewparker.bsky.social, @GeorgeWParker; Ben Hall @hallbenjamin and David Sheppard @OilSheppard

Want to get in touch? Email [email protected]

Want more? Free links:

Putin hails Trump’s ‘energetic and sincere’ efforts to end Ukraine war

Zelenskyy faces his ‘moment of maximum pressure’

JD Vance to meet Reform’s Nigel Farage after talks with Tory MP Robert Jenrick

George Osborne arranged Cotswolds holiday for JD Vance

How the Bayeux Tapestry became a tool of soft power

CLIPS: Manchester Evening News

Presented by George Parker, and produced by Clare Williamson. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Original music and mix by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com