Advertisement

British Conservatives Are Finally Going Public With Their Support For Joe Biden

Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden is winning support from Conservative party lawmakers in the UK. (SIPA USA/PA Images)
Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden is winning support from Conservative party lawmakers in the UK. (SIPA USA/PA Images)

With just over a week until the U.S. presidential election, Conservative lawmakers in Britain are finally going public with their support for Joe Biden.

Sajid Javid, who as chancellor under Prime Minister Boris Johnson held one of the most powerful positions in government, has declared that “Britain is better off with Biden,” and many others in his party are “praying” for a Trump defeat.

Conservative members of Parliament (MPs) told HuffPost UK that they were backing the Democratic challenger because of climate change, foreign policy such as the Iran nuclear deal and “the return of dignity” to the White House.

With Johnson’s Downing Street scrambling to build links with the Biden team in recent weeks, several parliamentarians said that the prime minister’s own standing among the public could also be helped if Trump was no longer on the scene.

Ever since former U.K. Prime Minister John Major’s government was accused in 1992 of digging up dirt on Bill Clinton’s youth, Britain’s Conservative party has been reluctant to wade into presidential elections.

Johnson, who said of Trump in 2015, “I am genuinely worried that he could become president,” swiftly changed his tune once the reality TV star and real estate developer looked like a serious contender for the Republican nomination a year later.

Since Trump became president he has torn up convention by undermining former Prime Minister Theresa May and openly supporting Johnson as her successor, and the two men have tried to form a strong bond over a post-Brexit U.K.-U.S. trade deal.

Yet Trump’s divisive rhetoric and his quixotic approach to world affairs has led many Conservative lawmakers to conclude that both the country and their party would be better off if he loses the 2020 election. One insider told HuffPost that “the vast majority” of Downing Street staff wanted a Biden victory.

Former foreign office minister Sir Alan Duncan called Trump a "global embarrassment." (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Former foreign office minister Sir Alan Duncan called Trump a "global embarrassment." (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Former U.K. foreign office minister Sir Alan Duncan, who had to deal with Trump up close during his...

Continue reading on HuffPost