Dick Schoof congratulates the new British Prime Minister on election victory

Prime Minister Dick Schoof is looking forward to working together with Labour Party leader Keir Starmer who will be named as the Prime Minister of Britain on Friday. This was written by the Dutch prime minister on X.

"I have just expressed my congratulations to Keir Starmer on his party's victory in the UK General Election. The Netherlands and the UK are close and long-standing allies and have many interests in common. I look forward to working together and to meeting with him in the weeks to come," Schoof said.

The result of the British elections will undoubtedly give a new impulse to the trade relations between the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. This was said by Lyne Biewinga, director of the Netherlands British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), in what was a first reaction to the results of the exit poll that was released on Thursday night.

Biewinga said she looks forward to working with the new British government. She referred to the fact that Labour said during their election campaign that they want to improve the relations with the European Union. "The Netherlands and the United Kingdom are now each other's third trading partners. This result is a great platform for further expanding our strong trade relationships."

Economists for ING and Rabobank had earlier said that a Labour victory would benefit Dutch exporters to the United Kingdom. Labour's election program stated that border controls for goods like meat and agricultural and horticultural products from the European Union need to be relaxed.

Currently, the increasingly strict controls are causing a lot of paperwork and long delays in British harbors, which is also due to a lack of staff.