The data that reveal growing strains in the special relationship

Telegraph

04-03-2025

Britain, the US and Russia have participated in 2,681 votes together at the United Nations Security Council since 1946.
In that time, the US has sided with Russia over the UK on just 22 occasions.
The most recent instance came last Monday, when the UK and Europe abstained from a US-drafted resolution calling for an end to the Ukraine conflict that omitted any criticism of Russia's actions.
The short resolution was adopted, much to the dismay of Ukraine and its European allies.
Before the vote that was held, on the third anniversary of Vladimir Putin's invasion, other than a disagreement over humanitarian relief to Gaza in 2023, you would have to go back to 1980 to find another example.
The Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the UN, with a mandate to promote international peace through negotiation, the imposition of sanctions or, if necessary, the authorisation of force.
A revolving roster of 10 nations joins the table for two-year terms, but five members have been permanent since its creation in the wake of the Second World War – the US, UK, France, China and Russia (formerly the USSR).
According to UN Digital Library records of all resolutions voted upon over the past 70 years, the UK and France are the closest permanent members, voting the same way 98.2 per cent of the time.
The US, for its part, was most aligned with the UK (97.1 per cent) and understandably, given their history, found least common cause with Russia (87.8 per cent).
But the current turmoil is bucking these long-term trends and suggests the two nations are drifting apart in their special relationship'.
The US and UK have only split votes 77 times, meaning entire years have often gone by with the pair 100 per cent like-minded.
Over the past 12 months, however, this rate fell to 94.4 – its lowest level since 1997.
In December, the US abstained in a vote on the establishment of an African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia, citing dissatisfaction with its funding model. Last March, it did the same during a call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during Ramadan.
More broadly, the breakdown of the transatlantic alliance echoes growing disunity within the wider Security Council and the UN as a whole. The majority of resolutions put forward, despite being put to a vote, are to give assent to agreements already made. The most common form of dissent, therefore, is to abstain.
The share of abstentions among all votes cast has risen steeply over the past decade, from 0.06 per cent in 2010 to beyond eight per cent last year.
Only the five permanent members have recourse to a more drastic measure – their negative vote counting as a veto.
According to Security Council Report, vetos empower them to 'defend their national interests, to uphold a tenet of their foreign policy or, in some cases, to promote a single issue of particular importance to a state'.
There were eight vetos last year, the highest annual total since 1989 and the eighth-highest in 79 years overall.
Three distinct phases emerge when looking at which country did the vetoing: the USSR was primarily responsible over the opening decades of the Cold War, the US then took the lead until 2008, from which point on Moscow began throwing up the most barriers once more.
The USSR and Russia have been behind almost half (47.1 per cent) of all no-votes cast, a share that creeps up to 57.9 per cent over the past three years, coinciding with the three-year long Ukraine war.
Speaking at an event after last Monday's event, Yevheniia Filipenko, Ukraine's ambassador, asked countries to continue their support for rebuilding Ukraine and seeking accountability for crimes committed since Russia's invasion.
'The road ahead is very challenging but when we are united we can prevail,' she said.