The End of the UK-US Special Relationship

Britain’s nuclear future can no longer depend on American stability. It’s time to build a European deterrent — and a new definition of sovereignty.

Royal Navy submarine HMS Victorious

If the U.S. and the U.K. were a married couple, their relationship would’ve seen it all — from passionate partnership, to near-breakups, to fragile reconciliations, and finally, a conscious uncoupling.

The full emotional arc — played out on the global stage.

And now? We’re in the conscious decoupling phase. Like it or not, the United Kingdom has no choice whatsoever but to remove its nuclear deterrrence from the US shadow. The United States isn’t an unreliable ally —it’s a never-rely-on ally.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer can keep sugarcoating the relationship in public, repeating lines about the “special partnership.” I don’t blame him — it’s his job to say those things. But deep down, he knows the truth: It’s now his responsibility to start building the safeguards that will protect the UK from the whims, fantasies, and meltdowns of American politics.

If you look closely at the arc of their journey, it becomes clear: this was always a relationship of mutual convenience, not mutual care. Built on aligned interests — not affection. It’s sad. But that’s the truth. It was never about love. It was about leverage.