US Vice President JD Vance has said Britain is an “amazing” country that has been “failed by its leadership for a long time”, pointing to the rapid turnover of prime ministers as evidence that British politics is deeply troubled.
Speaking to *The Sunday Times*, Vance said the succession of leaders in Downing Street showed that voters were demanding major political reform.
“What I see is six prime ministers in the last few years,” he said.
“What that says to me is that something is very broken about British politics and that people are really crying out for significant structural change.”
The vice president added: “I hope that Andy Burnham – and if not Andy Burnham, somebody else – is able to deliver it. Because Britain is such a beautiful country, such an amazing place.”
Vance made the comments as the US marked the 250th anniversary of American independence on 4 July.
Despite his criticism, he expressed strong affection for the UK, citing both cultural ties and personal connections, including his wife Usha’s time studying at the University of Cambridge.
“I have a special affection for Britain,” Vance said.
“I also just care about it because Britain feels more culturally familiar to me than any country on Earth, aside from my own.”
However, he argued that the country had “been failed by its leadership for a long time”.
Asked about Andy Burnham, who is expected to become Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade following Keir Starmer’s departure, Vance said he knew little about the Labour politician but stressed that Washington would maintain close relations with London regardless of who leads the government.
“Britain is one of our closest and most important allies. So whoever is the prime minister, we’re going to work with them and work with them as successfully as we can,” he said.
Vance has frequently attracted controversy over comments about Britain, particularly on migration and social issues.
Last month, he called for “righteous anger” following the murder of student Henry Nowak in Southampton, blaming what he described as “the politics of self-hatred and the mass invasion of migrants”.
The remarks prompted criticism from Downing Street, which accused external figures of “trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets”.
Vance has also criticised the UK’s approach to immigration, free speech and abortion clinic buffer zones in previous interventions.
Defending his comments, he said: “To the extent that the president or I, or secretary Rubio, are going into European institutions and encouraging people to be better, it comes from a perspective of love and admiration.”
“Even though sometimes what we say is provocative.”
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump used Independence Day celebrations to renew criticism of European migration policies, writing on Truth Social: “Europe is learning that when you take in Third World criminals, you become a Third World Country.”