LONDON - Joe Biden’s persistent poll lead has apparently led to a flurry of bridge-building in No. 10, which wants to dispel the idea that a UK-US trade deal depends on Donald Trump.
Biden, meanwhile, may have other priorities. His party now stands a chance of winning both the Senate and the presidency, a result that would give him two years of united government - and the chance to enact real change.

As the self-styled “Mr Brexit”, Donald Trump’s residence in the White House seemed perfectly aligned with Boris Johnson’s aims of striking a lucrative US trade deal as Britain quits the EU.

But Trump’s opponent in the imminent US presidential election is a different prospect entirely. Having vocally opposed the Brexit project, Joe Biden may prove less eager to strengthen ties with Downing Street if he secures the White House.

And with polls pointing towards victory at the polls for the Democrat, concerns are growing inside Downing Street about a changing of the guard in Washington that could “leave Johnson scrambling to rebuild the ‘special relationship’”, according to the Financial Times.