In foreign affairs, symbolism matters. Theresa May’s arrival at the White House on Friday as the first foreign leader to visit President Trump sends a clear message to the world about the intimacy of the ties between London and Washington DC. It also shows that our sometimes derided diplomats have done their job well, and puts to bed the idea that Nigel Farage or anyone else was needed as a go-between.

When the Prime Minister arrives, she will be fresh from addressing congressional Republicans – another privilege that would be accorded to few other foreigners – and I predict she will get on well with Trump, even though their personal traits are as different as is possible among members of the same species.

Try to imagine our PM sending out angry tweets at three in the morning, or savaging our own intelligence agencies. Picture Donald Trump reading files quietly for hours, then asking for more information and refusing to give any commentary on his thoughts. Both defy the imagination. It is the greatest contrast in styles between the holders of these offices, at least since Ulysses S Grant overlapped with Gladstone – and they didn’t have to meet.

Yet Trump evidently is predisposed to find his “Maggie” and he will probably warm to her clarity and firmness. For her part, Theresa May is highly skilled at creating a warm relationship with colleagues when she really wants to, and never in her life will she have been more determined to do so than on Friday.

She knows, as does anyone who has seen government in Britain from the inside at the top, that leaving the EU is a risk, but estrangement from the United States would be a certain disaster. Our nuclear deterrent may be the subject of controversy this week, but we only have missiles that work at all because America is happy to sell them to us – something it does for no one else. Our ability to detect potential terrorist attacks is as strong as it is because British security and intelligence-gathering is tightly integrated with the US.

Every day, all over the world, whatever our ambassadors and soldiers are doing, they are usually doing it in concert with our transatlantic cousins. And our business with America is greater than that with any other single country, even before attempting a special trade deal. The alliance with the USA is the one relationship the UK has that is truly indispensable.

David Fuller's view

This will be a very relaxed meeting compared to the rigors of Brexit negotiations and the US election battle.  It will also be a successful meeting between two very different but complementary leaders. 

Donald Trump has been gracious in offering Theresa May the first visit for a head of state at the White House.  She will appreciate the honour and be a wise, tactful confidant on international subjects.  He will be on his best behaviour.

They will discuss a mutually beneficial trade agreement, which will fully restore the Special Relationship between Britain and the USA.  It will strengthen Mrs May’s hand in dealing with Brexit challenges, at home and crucially with the EU.  Mr Trump will gain an important ally and this should help him in dealing with other countries, including Japan. 

The UK/USA relationship will not suffer if the two countries follow somewhat different economic paths.  Being smaller, the UK needs international trading, which had been a significant part of its long pre-EU history.  The large US economy is more self-sufficient, which is one of its strengths, but it still has more to gain than lose from international trading, albeit on a more level playing field.      

Here is a PDF of William Hague’s article.