10 July 2024 , 14:36
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet US President Joe Biden, 81, in the Oval Office as he makes his first foreign trip to Washington DC, ahead of a White House dinner
Keir Starmer has dismissed suggestions Joe Biden is too old to be President as he prepares to meet him at the White House.
The Prime Minister tonight will visit the Oval Office as he makes his first foreign trip to Washington DC. Mr Starmer and his wife Vic will then attend a White House dinner hosted by the President and Dr Jill Biden for world leaders attending a summit to mark the 75th anniversary of Nato.
There have been growing concerns about the health of Mr Biden, 81, as he prepares to run for re-election against Donald Trump.
Labour has said it will introduce new rules for the House of Lords so peers are forced to return at the election following their 80th birthday.
Asked if similar age restrictions should be introduced for world leaders including Mr Biden, Mr Starmer said: “The simple fact is that our House of Lords is massive. It’s the second biggest political chamber in the world. I think it’s only the Chinese who have a bigger political chamber than our House of Lords, we have to reduce it.
“That is the primary driver of retirement at 80, you can see why that needs to be done. We’ve got 800-plus members of the House of Lords, it’s simply too big. We need to reduce it. So it doesn’t reflect on how other elected representatives are chosen in other countries, it’s to do with the size of the House of Lords.”
The US President has insisted he is “firmly committed” to his re-election campaign and in a television interview At the weekend he insisted that only “the Lord Almighty” could persuade him to quit the race.
The visit will be the first time Mr Starmer, 61, has met Mr Biden. The pair spoke on the telephone on Friday shortly after the PM entered Downing Street when the President congratulated him on his “hell of a victory”.
Asked what he is hoping to get out of today’s meeting, Mr Starmer said: “I’ve already had a phone call with President Biden. I want to follow up on that, this is obviously a very special relationship we have between the UK and the US. We have, within that, a special aspect when it comes to defence and security for obvious reasons including our commitment to Nato. We make a unique contribution in Europe to Nato and therefore it’s a very good opportunity for me to talk to the President about how we take forward the important work at this summit.”