What a new Labour government will mean for the UK's foreign policy

LONDON — The incoming U.K. government will confront a complex international landscape after Britons head to the polls on July 4.

Labour leader Keir Starmer is widely expected to lead his party to victory, pledging to kick-start a "decade of national renewal," following 14 years of rule under the Conservative Party.

But the center-left politician will also be seeking to redefine the U.K.'s international image in the wake of Brexit, a recent spat of domestic political and economic blunders, and a more fractured global landscape. CNBC takes a look at the foreign policy priorities for the incoming government.

High on the new government's agenda will be maneuvering sensitive ties between global superpowers and geopolitical rivals, the U.S. and China.

Labour will be eager to maintain Britain's so-called special relationship with its trans-Atlantic ally, presenting a united front in areas of shared strategic interest. But it will also need to adapt to a more protectionist and likely unpredictable U.S., particularly in the event of a change in leadership following the November presidential election stateside.

"You could imagine that the relationship between the incoming personalities of Keir Starmer and Donald Trump would be awkward," David Dunn, professor of international politics at the University of Birmingham, told CNBC over the phone. "But they will work together."

Progress on a U.K.-U.S. free trade deal — one of the key pledges of the Brexit campaign — is also likely to be limited, given current interest from both the Republican and Democrat administrations. Britain could instead be expected to focus on certain "sector agreements" and to continue partnerships on military and critical technologies, Chatham House directors Bronwen