Gaza, Ukraine, Farage: Why Starmer might be dreading Trump's state visit

US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania are set to arrive in Britain on Tuesday night for a two-day state visit.

The visit will be Trump's second state visit, with the first coming during the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

This time around, it will be her son and successor King Charles III who will do the hosting with plans for a grand carriage procession through the Windsor estate and a royal banquet. 

The embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be hoping to make progress towards a full trade deal with the US. 

Trump's visit comes at a fraught time, with Britain at odds with the US on key issues that Trump, not known for holding his tongue, may see fit to pontificate on in front of the cameras. 

For Starmer that could mean yet more bad press and scandal.

An initial awkwardness will come from the absence of the British ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, who Starmer sacked last week over his connections to the notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. 

But Trump faces questions over his own intimate connection with Epstein, which could mean the issue is avoided by both sides.

Then there are the two most pressing foreign policy issues which Trump and Starmer will discuss: Russia and Israel.

On both of these, the US and Britain are now at odds.

Starmer will look to persuade Trump to take harsher action against Russia, including more measures against the Russian shadow fleet. Few believe the US president will be receptive.

On Israel, the UK is a driving force behind the international buildup for the recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly in New York in the coming days.

Tensions over Israel

Britain is poised to recognise a Palestinian state, a move that the US has opposed. If asked about it, Trump is unlikely to speak positively on the move.

At least on the surface, the UK and Israel are going through a bad patch. The Labour government has strongly condemned Israel's expanded military operations in Gaza.

Any criticism of Israel means putting Britain at odds with Israel's chief backer, the US.

Just this week it emerged that a prestigious military college, the Royal College of Defence Studies, has banned Israelis over the war in Gaza - triggering outrage from Israel and Britain's opposition Tory party.

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It is quite plausible that Trump will be asked about the issue during his visit.

Other MPs will certainly look to pile pressure on the government.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey is boycotting King Charles' state banquet, to which he was invited, in protest against US support for Israel's war.

Davey said "it is the only way I can send a message to both Donald Trump and Keir Starmer that they cannot close their eyes and wish this away."

There are also a range of hot domestic topics on which members of the Trump administration are known to have strong views. Vice President JD Vance, for example, strongly believes that Britain has a free speech crisis.

This is despite the US consistently punishing anti-Israel voices through visa denials and revocations.

Nevertheless right-wing commentators in the US regularly accuse Labour of authoritarianism, over people being arrested and prosecuted for social media posts deemed hateful.

Vance has previously raised the free speech issue with Starmer, and Downing Street will no doubt fear that Trump could say the same, which would be cannon fodder for the Tories and Reform UK.

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One major political figure who will undoubtedly be gearing up to create problems for Starmer is Reform leader Nigel Farage - a friend of Trump's who recently met the president in the Oval Office and told the US Congress that Britain is becoming an authoritarian country.

Farage's party tops all the opinion polls and he is often treated by Trump allies as the prime minister-in-waiting. 

The Reform leader has already kicked up a fuss about not being invited by the king to the state banquet.

"I’ve only known [Trump] personally as a friend for over a decade," he complained earlier this month, "but that shows you the attitude of this Labour government."

If Trump is asked by journalists about Farage during the visit, he is sure at the very least to praise Starmer's political nemesis, which the prime minister will not appreciate. 

And all this as Starmer faces unprecedented pressure within his own party. Revolt is brewing and there is even talk within the Labour ranks of the prime minister being replaced by Christmas.

The famously unpredictable American president's state visit, rather than helping the prime minister, could instead throw fuel on the fire of Starmer's domestic troubles.