Greenland’s people must decide its future, says Nandy

by | Jan 18, 2026 | Politics

13 minutes agoShareSaveMaia DaviesShareSaveThe UK will not compromise on its position that Greenland’s future must be decided by its own people, the culture secretary has said.Lisa Nandy said Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on the UK and other European allies over their opposition to a US takeover of the Danish territory was “deeply unhelpful and counterproductive”.She told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that an “adult debate” with the White House was needed over the issue, which Trump says is a matter of national security.The eight countries named in Trump’s tariff plan said in a joint statement that the threatened levies “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral”.The statement – from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK – said the nations “stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland”. It continued: “We will continue to stand united and co-ordinated in our response. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.”The White House has in recent weeks intensified calls for a US takeover of the autonomous Danish territory, which Trump has repeatedly said Denmark did not have the capacity to protect from the likes of Russia and China.He has not ruled out taking Greenland by force, but his administration has said its first recourse was to purchase the territory.Trump’s plan would see a 10% tariff introduced on goods from the eight countries from 1 February, which could later rise to 25%, until a deal was struck.In a rare public rebuke of a US president he has so far had a strong relationship with, Sir Keir Starmer called the move “completely wrong” and said his government would be “pursuing this directly with the US administration”.Nandy said the prime minister had not spoken to Trump since he announced the plan on Saturday, but that he hoped to do so “at the earliest opportunity”.She said Trump will often “express a very strong view” before encouraging “dialogue”.”He welcomes difference of opinion… and what often happens is a negotiation,” she said.Asked whether she believed Trump would row back on the tariffs, Nandy replied: “I think this is actually a really serious issue, and I think it deserves a far more adult debate than us threatening the United States, and the United States threatening us.””The one thing that we won’t do is compromise on our position” she said, reiterating: “The future of Greenland is a matter for the people of Greenland and the people of the kingdom of Denmark.”Nandy added: “That is non-negotiable. That is the starting point for the conversation.”She indicated that Sir Keir may speak to Trump about the matter at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, n …

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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nn13 minutes agoShareSaveMaia DaviesShareSaveThe UK will not compromise on its position that Greenland’s future must be decided by its own people, the culture secretary has said.Lisa Nandy said Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on the UK and other European allies over their opposition to a US takeover of the Danish territory was “deeply unhelpful and counterproductive”.She told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that an “adult debate” with the White House was needed over the issue, which Trump says is a matter of national security.The eight countries named in Trump’s tariff plan said in a joint statement that the threatened levies “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral”.The statement – from Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK – said the nations “stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland”. It continued: “We will continue to stand united and co-ordinated in our response. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.”The White House has in recent weeks intensified calls for a US takeover of the autonomous Danish territory, which Trump has repeatedly said Denmark did not have the capacity to protect from the likes of Russia and China.He has not ruled out taking Greenland by force, but his administration has said its first recourse was to purchase the territory.Trump’s plan would see a 10% tariff introduced on goods from the eight countries from 1 February, which could later rise to 25%, until a deal was struck.In a rare public rebuke of a US president he has so far had a strong relationship with, Sir Keir Starmer called the move “completely wrong” and said his government would be “pursuing this directly with the US administration”.Nandy said the prime minister had not spoken to Trump since he announced the plan on Saturday, but that he hoped to do so “at the earliest opportunity”.She said Trump will often “express a very strong view” before encouraging “dialogue”.”He welcomes difference of opinion… and what often happens is a negotiation,” she said.Asked whether she believed Trump would row back on the tariffs, Nandy replied: “I think this is actually a really serious issue, and I think it deserves a far more adult debate than us threatening the United States, and the United States threatening us.””The one thing that we won’t do is compromise on our position” she said, reiterating: “The future of Greenland is a matter for the people of Greenland and the people of the kingdom of Denmark.”Nandy added: “That is non-negotiable. That is the starting point for the conversation.”She indicated that Sir Keir may speak to Trump about the matter at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, n …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]