A much less rosy view of the “special relationship” was painted by Farage, a long-time supporter of Trump, whose offer of acting as a go-between in negotiations with the president-elect has so far been rejected by the government.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s The Westminster Hour, the Reform UK leader said the government needs to “think outside the box” when dealing with the Trump administration, and that all evidence – including Lord Mandelson’s appointment – suggests they are not doing that.
“I think what this government does, is what all governments do – they stick with the established, status quo methods of appointing people,” he said.
Farage said he feared the UK would squander “an amazing opportunity” to get away from tariffs and negotiate free trade deals due to the prime minister’s refusal to choose the US over the EU.
“This guy [Trump] does business differently to anybody else we’ve seen in global politics before,” he said. “They don’t think they need me – but they might find in short order that maybe they do.
“If we have a deteriorating relationship with America that does hurt us financially, it’ll be the Labour government’s fault,” adding that Trump is “probably more Eurosceptic” than he is.
The fact the UK still does not have a free trade deal with the US, despite this being a priority in the Conservative 2019 manifesto, has been criticised by the party’s current leader Kemi Badenoch, who said leaving the EU without a growth plan was “a mistake”.
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel, a prominent voice in the Vote Leave Brexit campaign, was questioned about Badenoch’s comments by Kuenssberg after she urged swift action to agree a UK-US trade deal.
Patel said there were plans to legislate to start the Brexit process but acknowledged a lack of plans around how to rebuild relationships.
She said: “In terms of long-term sustainable proposals Kemi’s right to recognise that clearly wider plans needed to be put in place.”
Responding to Patel, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller claimed the Conservatives were now competing with Reform UK to be “the most submissive with Trump” – but the UK should not put “blind faith” in the new administration.
He said: “[Priti Patel’s] desire to rush into a free trade deal between the UK and US – one that could sell British farmers and food standards down the river – reminds us of where her and her party’s true alliances lie: with the Mar-a-Lago clan, not with constituents here in Britain.”
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