by Xinhua Writers Zheng Bofei, Larry Neild
LONDON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- An annual survey of British public opinion on foreign policy has found that Britain's once-hailed "special relationship" with the United States is weakening under U.S. President Donald Trump, and Britons now look once again across the Channel to Europe amid strategic uncertainty and erratic U.S. policies.
Public support for the UK-U.S. relationship has "collapsed," with President Trump now widely viewed as undermining Britain's national interests, according to the survey results released by the London-based independent think tank British Foreign Policy Group (BFPG) on Thursday.
Trust in the United States has plummeted from 53 percent in 2024 to just 38 percent in 2025, the BFPG survey shows. More Britons now distrust the U.S. to act responsibly in the world than trust it.
"I'm not surprised the results are showing less trust in Donald Trump," said Michael Haycock, 42, from Cheshire. "He changes his mind so often, and we don't know where we stand. One minute he is our best friend, the next he takes issue with us. We should just stop trusting him and get on with it in our way."
The survey also reveals a marked shift back toward Europe and the European Union (EU). Even among those who voted to leave the EU, there is growing support for deeper cooperation with Brussels. A majority of respondents now identify themselves as European, as the conflict in Ukraine, the fallout from Brexit, and the perceived retrenchment of the United States have nudged public sentiment back toward the union.
More than 60 percent of respondents believe Britain should move closer to the EU as a direct result of Trump's leadership.
A strong majority also supports key agreements reached at the recent UK-EU Summit: 83 percent back enhanced defence and security cooperation, 79 percent favor reduced trade barriers on food and drink, and 78 percent support enabling ePassport gate access for Britons traveling in Europe.
Among Leave voters, 78 percent now support recent defence and security cooperation agreements with the EU.
That sentiment is echoed by Maureen Tarpey, 38, from Liverpool, who has second thoughts about Brexit. "I voted to leave the EU. I don't regret it, but if there were another vote, I'd vote to go back," she said. "The way Trump acts will drive more people to want better links with Europe."
Ian Scott, an expert in American history at the University of Manchester, told Xinhua that Trump's brash, transactional style clashes with British political culture. "Trump has done more, socially and culturally, to alienate the British public from what they think the United States is," he said.
Scott added that the Trump team now consists of more ideologically driven figures who appear uninterested in the traditions of the UK-U.S. alliance. "There's a deep suspicion of cultural bankruptcy in the U.S. that Britons think is likely the ruin of society," he added. ■
