Burnham likely to steer steady ship on UK foreign policy

MANAGING US PRESIDENT TRUMP

Mr Starmer gained a reputation as a “Trump whisperer” in the early days after Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term as US president in January 2025.

But ties have hit a rocky patch despite attempts to woo the mercurial US leader.

Despite the much-vaunted “special relationship” between the US and Britain, Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised the Labour government over defence spending, its reluctance to fully endorse US strikes on Iran and the future of the strategically important Chagos Islands, home to a joint UK-US military base.

Whether Mr Trump will warm to Mr Burnham remains unclear.

Asked recently about the former mayor of Manchester, the US leader said he did not know him well.

“I think he was the mayor of a city. I’ve heard he’s very liberal,” Mr Trump said.

For his part, during his by-election campaign, Mr Burnham warned voters that Britain risked drifting towards the “polarised, poisonous politics” of the US, where “people in communities don’t work together any more”.

But he also wrote in The Times: “Our relationship with the US will remain critical as our most important defence and security ally.”

He told former footballer Gary Lineker on his podcast that although he had not yet spoken to Mr Trump, he would deal with him in an “upfront” manner.

“It’s about respecting the office… the US-UK relationship, but where you disagree … do it in a way that is kind of meeting him where’s he’s at.”

RUSSIA AND UKRAINE

Support for Ukraine remains one of the rare issues which enjoys near-unanimous cross-party backing across British politics.

Mr Burnham has vowed to maintain the strong backing for Kyiv begun under former Conservative premier Boris Johnson following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

“British support for Ukraine will not falter,” he wrote in The Times in early July.

Like Mr Starmer, he sees that commitment as closely linked to Britain’s role within NATO.

“Our commitment to NATO and the British nuclear deterrent capability will remain absolute,” he said.