Key events
Burnham plays down past critical comments about Trump, saying it’s right to ‘move beyond’ them
Speaking to journalists on his flight to New York, Andy Burnham played down suggestions that previous critical things he has said about Donald Trump could cause a problem when they meet later.
As with almost everyone on the left of politics in the UK, Burnham has a longish record of saying disobliging things about the US president. In 2017, as mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham said that as a “matter of principle” he would not meet Trump because of the “hateful, extremist material” he posted online. After Trump backed his supporters who stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 to try to overturn the presidential election result, Burnham said: “Any UK politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now.” Only last year he accused Trump of bringing “instability to the world”.
Burnham did not apologise for any of these comments, or retract them, but he told reporters it was time to move on. He also pointed out that Trump had been dismissive of him recently, describing him as “the mayor of a town”.
Burnham said:
Politicians say things throughout their career, but now the important thing is to focus on the moment you are in, and I did say to the president in our first phone call, I said Mr President, Manchester isn’t ‘some town’. I said ‘this is Manchester’.
And so yes, the right thing to do is to have a laugh about it, isn’t it, and move beyond it.
Asked if he could trust Trump, Burnham said:
When you come into this job, you realise how deep this relationship is. We trust our allies. Of course, we do.
Asked if he trusted Trump personally, Burnham replied: “Yes.”
(This is one of those comments best understood by applying the Mandy Rice-Davies principle, rather than taking it literally.)
Politico has a bit more colour on the huddle in today’s London Playbook.
Burnham’s first huddle with the Lobby pack on the government jet, where he sat chatting for 38 minutes in jeans, a suit jacket and his blue Joseph’s Goal wristband. It was a more discursive affair than under Starmer. The newbie PM was so disappointed that no hacks asked him to diss Danny Dyer — see here for the very sweary context— that he volunteered the line anyway. “I’m not sure I know who he is,” said Burnham. “Is he the father-in-law of a West Ham player?”
Burnham fails to rule out Brexit reversal being in next Labour manifesto
Andy Burnham has opened the door to fighting the next election on the UK rejoining the EU, but said his immediate priority was continuing to rebuild bridges with European allies. Pippa Crerar has the story, which is based on what Burnham told journalists as he spoke to them in what reporters call a “huddle” on his flight to New York.
UK not ‘on the slide’, Burnham to tell UN as he gears up for first meeting with Trump
Good morning. Andy Burnham is at the United Nations general assembly today and in a speech to the world (or, technically, to people in the hall and anyone watching on TV at around 2am UK time), he will say that Britain is not “on the slide”.
Speaking to reporters on the plane to New York, Burnham said:
The plan for Britain is about ‘what is our direction over the next 10 years and how do we make life more affordable for people’. That is my main priority, that’s what people are looking for.
I hear people saying the country is on the slide – we’re the fastest growing in the G7, there’s lots to be proud of, there’s a lot right with the country and I’m going to give a really upbeat message when I speak.
But the story of the day will instead focus on Burnham’s meeting with someone who does think the UK is “on the slide”, or at least claims to think that. “Your country’s in trouble. You’re on the edge of disaster,” Donald Trump told a GB News reporter recently.
In her overnight story ahead of the meeting, Pippa Crerar, who is on the trip with Burnham, says Burnham is going to adopt a middle-of-the-road approach to the US president when they meet. She says:
Government sources told the Guardian that Burnham would try to pursue a “third way” in his relationship with the US president, neither as adversarial as the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, nor as publicly fawning as [Keir] Starmer’s early approach, and relying on the strength of his personality.
This is a reference to Starmer offering Trump an unprecedented second state visit when they first met at the White House. Theresa May also found herself pimping the monarch at her first meeting with Trump. There were good reasons for both offers at the time, and they bought both newbie PMs some goodwill from the White House monster, but it did not last and both those encounters are now recalled as moments of national embarrassment. As long as today’s meeting is cordial, Burnham will probably be happy with something more low-key.
It is hard to know what can be achieved in any meeting with Trump because he is so unpredicable. Later Burnham has another meeting with a president which will get far less coverage, but may turn out to be more consequential. The PM is meeting Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, for the first time and, with the prospects of the EU-UK reset in jeopardy, there is a lot to discuss.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: The final day of the Lib Dem conference in Brighton starts. The debates this morning will include one on the Lib Dems’ water policy.
2.30pm: Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, gives his keynote speech at the conference.
Around 4.45pm (UK time): Andy Burnham is due to meet Donald Trump at the UN in New York.
Late afternoon/early evening (UK time): Burnham has bilateral meetings with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president, and others.
Late evening (UK time): Burnham co-chairs a meeting on the Middle East with other leaders including Emmanuel Macron, the French president, and Mark Carney, the Canadian PM.
Around 1.50am (UK time): Burnham gives his speech to the UN before flying back to the UK.
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