Andy Burnham: Past Fury Irrelevant as UK PM Meets Trump at UN

Andy Burnham used to post angry messages online calling Donald Trump names and saying UK politicians should feel ashamed for dealing with him. Even when he was mayor of Manchester, he suggested banning the American leader from the city because he called him highly divisive. Those days are now history as the Prime Minister prepares to meet his former foe at the United Nations general assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Cabinet minister Bridget Phillipson told Sky News that old social media rants should not stop the two men from building a strong relationship. She dismissed Burnham's past fury simply as politics and said it is nowhere near unique for people to express different views on different topics at different times. The President knows this, she insisted.

What really counts is the ability to share intelligence and work together on defence issues like Ukraine and much more besides. That kind of cooperation matters far more than any personal grudge or past disagreement. Phillipson admitted that Burnham will definitely have those old differences in mind during their face-to-face meeting, but noted they do not share the same political outlook.

The relationship between Britain and America stretches way beyond any single president or prime minister. It has survived for many centuries despite all the political friction and shifting winds of opinion. Leaders come and go over time, yet what matters most is protecting British national interest above everything else.

And that is what Andy Burnham will deliver for our country. Back in April 2019, while Donald Trump served his first term as US President, Andy Burnham warned that many different communities across Britain would feel deeply unsettled by the American leader's upcoming state visit to the UK. He told the Manchester Evening News at the time that there are many people living here who will be deeply troubled by this trip. The then-Greater Manchester mayor said he simply wouldn't welcome a visit from Mr Trump to his city because it would be highly divisive and cause real protests on our streets.

Fast forward to 2021, specifically January 6th. That was the day of the US Capitol attack. On that very day, Andy Burnham claimed UK politicians should feel ashamed of dealing with Mr Trump. He later admitted in comments made to the Manchester Evening News that he performed a partial U-turn on his earlier refusal to meet the President at all. His new stance was clear: he would talk to Mr Trump, but only to call him out for whatever came next.

Further criticism poured out in June during Andy Burnham's successful bid to replace Keir Starmer as Prime Minister after his victory in the Makerfield by-election. Donald Trump labelled Andy Burnham extremely liberal at that moment. When asked what he knew about the new leader, the US President replied with a shrug. 'I don't know,' Mr Trump said. 'I think I see that he was, I guess, the mayor of a town.'

Before officially becoming Prime Minister, Andy Burnham indicated he would be willing to disagree with Mr Trump but try to meet him where he's at while respecting the office. He spoke to Mr Trump on the phone on his very first day as PM. During that call, he invited the US President to Manchester for the G20 summit next year. The facts show a man who navigates high stakes without losing his nerve.