Andy Burnham and Donald Trump are not natural bedfellows. One is a soft left, working class Mancunian known for his love of football and public transport. The other is a brash former reality TV star and a real estate billionaire with authoritarian tendencies.
But in a matter of weeks or months, Burnham will likely be responsible for handling the UK’s most important strategic relationship: its partnership with the US. And Trump may not make it easy for him.
Should Burnham prove victorious in the upcoming Labour leadership contest – as is widely predicted – navigating the volatile US President may be his first and trickiest international challenge.
The Starmer-Trump relationship soured in recent months, with the US President firing off a series of insults over Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to be drawn into his war with Iran. There are hopes that a change of prime minister could reset the so-called Special Relationship, but Burnham has made it clear that he does not intend to kowtow to Trump, warning as recently as last week against the “poisonous” politics seen in the US.
Ben Judah, a former foreign office special adviser and now visiting fellow at Chatham House, warned that the first Burnham-Trump meeting would be a “tough moment to get right”.
“You don’t want to come across either as too much of a lapdog poodle or as an ostracised puppy,” he told The i Paper.
Should he succeed Starmer, much of the relationship will come down to Burnham’s choice of team, Judah said, including his national security advisor, foreign secretary and the “increasingly-international” deputy prime minister role.
As foreign secretary, David Lammy forged an unlikely relationship with Trump’s vice president, JD Vance, with the pair bonding over their working-class upbringings and Christian faith.
Trump has been vocal in his demands on European allies to hike their military contributions, even threatening to invite Russia to invade Nato allies he felt were not spending enough.
But so far, Burnham has said very little about how he would fund Britain’s readiness for war.
Melanie Garson, an international security expert at University College London, said if Burnham showed willingness to fund defence, this could curry favour across the pond. Last week, the former Manchester mayor pledged to cut welfare to fund defence, saying he was “not squeamish” about reducing the UK’s benefits bill.
“We know that that element is important to the US administration, so would give an opening to perhaps construct some form of pathway,” Garson said.
But even that is easier said than done. The Treasury and Ministry of Defence still appear to be locked in a battle over the UK’s defence spending, with John Healey resigning last week as defence secretary in protest at what he saw as inadequate funding of the Armed Forces.
Andy Burnham with his wife and daughter after he won the Makerfield by-election, paving the way for his leadership challenge (Photo: Jon Super/AP)Another pitfall when it comes to Burnham’s relationship with Trump is the long-term alliance he has forged with Mike Bloomberg, the former New York mayor, Garson said, a man sometimes described as Trump’s “mortal enemy”. Bloomberg has been an influence on Burnham for almost a decade, first meeting in 2017 as part of a programme to develop mayors around the world.
David Andersen, a professor of US politics at Durham University, sees other potential fault lines between the two men.
“Andy Burnham would be an interesting twist in the US-UK relationship, but it is hard to see how it would improve things for the UK in that relationship,” he told The i Paper.
“Replacing Starmer with an arguably more left-wing PM is highly unlikely to moderate Trump’s style or approach,” he added. “Instead, he will likely use this as an excuse to raise tariffs against the UK again, in an attempt to intimidate Burnham into making trade concessions.”
Andersen suggested a Burnham premiership would “restart US-UK relations to a degree, but probably not in a way that significantly improves the UK’s position”.
Inexperienced Burnham faces ‘bear traps’
International affairs are considered a weak point for Burnham. He re-enters Westminster from the mayorship of Greater Manchester, and his previous stints in government have been predominantly in health, culture and finance.
And yet, the pressure to get it right has rarely been higher. Europe is facing immense geopolitical turbulence – with war in Ukraine, an increasingly aggressive Russia and an America wavering in its support for its European allies.
“Andy Burnham, if he becomes prime minister, will be a prime minister defined by foreign policy,” said Judah. “Geopolitics keeps on being the top story.”
One senior Labour source and Burnham ally said that his inexperience internationally does not mean he is set to flounder in the complex geopolitical problems like the Special Relationship. His strength, they said, is not in transport reform but in his ability to identify needs and find creative, effective solutions.
“Did Tony Blair or Keir Starmer have any meaningful foreign or defence experience before becoming PM?” they asked. “Is being leader of the opposition, which is largely ceremonial, better prep than being a mayor with a proper budget and running things?”
Even so, if elected, Burnham won’t have long to strategise his approach to the US, with a series of “bear traps” this summer for whoever resides in No 10, according to Judah. Already looming are Nato and EU summits in July, both of which will likely come with Starmer still in place, and then the G20 in Miami in December.
“First impressions of a prime minister are very important, and none more so than first impressions of a prime minister on the world stage,” Judah said.
For Burnham, this could easily make or break his relationship with Trump.
Hence then, the article about the pitfalls burnham faces when tackling trump was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The pitfalls Burnham faces when tackling Trump )
Also on site :
- Disney+ & A24 UK Teaming For First Time On Clem Garritty Comedy-Drama About Siblings Whose Father Is Accused Of Murder
- As public sentiment sours, Indonesia awaits MSCI verdict which risks $13 billion in capital outflows
- Germany plans to take 40% in Leopard tank maker KNDS, joining France as stakeholder