Chevening House, the stately 17th-century manor nestled in the Kent countryside, played host to an unusual diplomatic weekend on August 8-10, 2025. US Vice President JD Vance and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, two men with very different political leanings but strikingly similar backgrounds, met for a blend of serious diplomacy and a spot of fishing. Their families joined them, lending a rare air of informality to a gathering that, beneath its surface, was charged with the weight of global crises.
The pair’s meeting, according to The Guardian and Reuters, was not just a photo opportunity. They convened UK, US, and European security officials to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, with the specter of an imminent meeting between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin looming large. With Gaza also in turmoil and diplomatic rifts widening between Washington and London, the stakes were high. Yet, as both men have noted, their shared Christian faith and working-class roots have fostered an unexpected camaraderie—one that may have helped keep the conversation honest and, at times, even warm.
Chevening House itself, a Grade I-listed building once home to the Earls of Stanhope and gifted to the state in 1959, provided a grand but tranquil backdrop. Fishing rods in hand, Vance and Lammy found common ground not just in policy, but in personal history. Vance, whose bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy chronicles a childhood marked by poverty, family addiction, and the steadying hand of a devout grandmother, has spoken openly about his conversion to Catholicism. Lammy, for his part, has long professed his Christian faith and endured a fractured upbringing, losing contact with his father after his parents’ divorce.
These shared experiences have translated into a genuine friendship, as evidenced by their recent collaborations. In March 2025, Lammy attended Mass at Vance’s Washington residence. A few months later, in Rome, Vance hosted Lammy and Labour’s Angela Rayner for drinks. Lammy told The Guardian, “I had this great sense that JD completely relates to me and Angela. It was a wonderful hour and a half… I was definitely the shyest of the three.”
But faith and fishing aside, the Chevening summit was all business when it came to Ukraine. On August 8, Vance and Lammy brought together senior officials to strategize ahead of Trump’s planned meeting with Putin, set for the following week. The urgency was palpable: the three-and-a-half-year-old conflict had reached a critical juncture, with Trump recently declaring that Russia and Ukraine were close to a ceasefire deal—though one that might require Ukraine to surrender significant territory.
Vance, speaking to Fox News and cited by Reuters, struck a pragmatic note: “It’s not going to make anybody super happy. Both the Russians and the Ukrainians, probably, at the end of the day, are going to be unhappy with it.” He stressed that the US was pushing for a settlement both sides could accept, even if it left all parties dissatisfied. Vance also revealed that the US was working to schedule direct talks between Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and Trump. However, he cautioned, “I don’t think it would be productive for Putin to meet Zelenskiy before speaking with Trump.”
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, for his part, was unyielding. On August 9, he stated, “Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupiers,” making clear that Kyiv could not violate its constitution on territorial integrity. Meanwhile, a White House official confirmed that Trump was open to a summit with both leaders, but for now was planning for the bilateral meeting Putin had requested.
The Chevening discussions unfolded against a backdrop of wider global uncertainty. In Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was signaling an expansion of his country’s campaign. The US and UK, traditionally close allies, found themselves at odds: Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s pledge to recognize a Palestinian state if Israel did not agree to a ceasefire drew criticism from Washington. The diplomatic tightrope act was evident in every conversation.
Within the UK, the meeting drew political scrutiny as well. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey publicly urged Lammy to press for new American sanctions on Russia, warning, “We’ve been here before: Putin stalling and trying to curry favour with Trump through promises of a ceasefire – before rocking Ukraine with even more bombs. With his self-imposed deadline elapsing tomorrow, Trump needs to put his money where his mouth is and introduce the sanctions he promised on Russia. It would be a disaster if Trump lets himself be fooled by Putin again.”
Vance’s own relationship with Britain has not always been smooth. In February, he criticized what he called a backslide on conscience rights after a man was convicted for silently praying outside an abortion clinic—a case he saw as an infringement on religious liberty. He also sparked controversy by suggesting the UK was becoming a “truly Islamist country,” a remark Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner dismissed. More recently, Vance questioned the security guarantees offered by European nations in the Ukraine conflict, though he later clarified he had not meant to single out the UK or France, stating, “I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond.”
Despite these tensions, Vance’s holiday itinerary in Britain was quintessentially traditional. After Chevening, he and his family planned to visit Hampton Court Palace and spend most of their time in the Cotswolds—a choice that raised eyebrows given his prior criticisms. Yet, there he was, fishing rod in hand, discussing world affairs with Lammy in the Kent countryside.
For all the political maneuvering, the personal rapport between Lammy and Vance was unmistakable. Their shared faith and backgrounds seemed to soften the edges of policy disagreements, at least for a weekend. Whether their bond will yield tangible diplomatic results remains to be seen, especially as Trump, Putin, and Zelenskiy prepare for their own high-stakes meetings. For now, Chevening House stands as a testament to the power—and limits—of personal diplomacy in a world where, as Vance put it, “it’s not going to make anybody super happy.”
In the end, the weekend in Kent offered a rare glimpse of humanity behind the headlines: two men, shaped by adversity, seeking common ground in a world short on easy answers.
