Labour chair Bridget Phillipson instead described the new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s previous criticism of the erratic US President on social media as ‘politics’
Andy Burnham will come face-to-face with the US President early this week(Image: Samuel Corum – Pool via CNP/Shutterstock)
Andy Burnham’s past unflattering comments about Donald Trump will be no bar to a strong UK-US relationship, a Cabinet minister has claimed.
Labour chair Bridget Phillipson instead described the new Prime Minister’s previous criticism of the erratic US President on social media as “politics”. In one post from 2021, Mr Burnham, the then-Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “Any UK politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now.”
It comes ahead of Mr Burnham’s first face-to-face meeting early this week with the US President as he attends the UN general assembly in New York. Appearing on Sky News, Ms Phillipson was asked whether old posts on X would make the two leaders’ first meeting awkward.
She said: “Look, I think what you’ve just described there is politics, and the President knows that. And this is not far from unique, and people will express views at different points on different topics, and that’s no bar to having a strong relationship.”
She added: “But of course, like there are differences of opinion, we don’t have the same political outlook, but the relationship between the UK and the US goes beyond any one President, any one Prime Minister. It’s something that has stood the test of time over many centuries.”
Mr Burnham, who has held two official calls with Mr Trump since entering No10 in July, has previously defended his past remarks at the President. He said last month: “I’ve had a habit of saying what I feel over the years, and I’ll continue to do that.
“But, at the same time, I am somebody who works with people, tries to find common ground, and obviously that’s what I should be doing in this job in the British public’s interest, and I will always take that approach.
“I’m looking forward actually to my first meeting. We had a good phone call on my first day in office and looking forward to meeting in person.”
The US leader also described Mr Burnham as “a very nice guy” last week. It was an echo of some of his more positive comments about Keir Starmer during the early stages of his premiership and before relations became strained over the US-Iran war.
On Sunday, Sir Ed Davey said he would still call Mr Trump a “destructive demagogue”. Asked if he stands by the words he used in November 2024, he told Sky News: “Yes I would and if you look at how he’s behaved, he’s even got worse.
“The Iran war is hurting America, hurting our country, hurting the whole world – this has been a disaster – and the problem with Mr Trump is unless you stand up to him, he rolls you over.”
Ex-Labour leader Neil Kinnock said last week the PM would approach the meeting with Mr Trump with “typical Andy courtesy and coolness”.
But he joked on BBC Newsnight: “I’d love to think of course that he would turn up in his black t-shirt and look a bit like [Ukraine’s] President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office to irritate the hell out of Donald Trump – the model of sartorial elegance. But he won’t, there won’t be any mischief.”
