Sir Keir Starmer will have an early opportunity to make a good impression with fellow European leaders at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. He will host another 46 leaders for the fourth European Political Community summit on Thursday. The World Heritage Site, usually a big pull to the town, has been closed since the weekend and road closures will remain until Friday.
But outside the cordon in Woodstock, a stone's throw from the palace, the summit has had a mixed reception. Geoffrey Naf, who runs Woodstock Butchers, predicts trade has been hit by about 50%. "A lot of my locals can’t get in from the outlying villages because the roads are closed," he said.
"I have had everyone asking me, 'Are we even bothering to open on Thursday?'" He added: "Obviously, I’m here, I’ve got work to do and hopefully might make a few pounds over the till - but I'm not feeling very hopeful about today." Mark Harris, from Woodstock Grocers, said his business was set to lose between £500 and £1,000 because of the summit. "People are frightened to come into Woodstock," he said.
"All the signs coming into Woodstock say avoid the area, so what shoppers are going to be here? None," he said. Is he proud the summit is being held in Oxfordshire? "No," he replied. "It shouldn't be here.
It should be somewhere where it's not going to be affecting locals." Former US president Donald Trump visited Blenheim Palace, and the then prime minister Theresa May, on the first part of his first UK visit in July 20.
