
Has Burnham changed tack on Russia?
👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne's on your podcast app👈
- neutral toward Andy Burnham · 97%

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne's on your podcast app👈

In today’s newsletter: The PM’s first face‑to‑face with the US president marks a fragile reset Good morning. In the early hours of Tuesday a plane carrying Andy Burnham, a handful of UK ministers, an excited group of British political journalists, and Burnham’s wife, Marie France, landed at a New York airport for one of Burnham’s first major outings as prime minister: a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump. Considering the president once described Burnham as the mayor of “a town,” and the prime minister once said Trump wouldn’t be welcome in said town (Manchester), the meeting yesterday afternoon went remarkably well. UN general assembly | Donald Trump has called on nations to unite to isolate Tehran and bring down global energy prices, as he gave a bellicose defence of his administration’s foreign policy and decision to strike Iran. The far right | Charities have condemned footage of a far-right activist using a blade to slash an inflatable dinghy in the Channel while a rescue worker was onboard, in a further escalation of organised anti-immigration protest. UK news | Children as young as 13 in the UK have been referred to a specialist clinic for a “devastating” bladder condition linked to sustained use of ketamine . West Bank | British banks and financial institutions are receiving warnings from MPs that they should not invest in Israel’s E1 settlement project. UK politics | 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. Continue reading...

British aides express relied, as the prime minister’s team say the meeting was at the ‘top end of their expectations’ On the flight out to New York this week, one of Andy Burnham’s senior aides warned him that meeting Donald Trump would be the political equivalent of white water rafting. While there is a well-known playbook the US president deploys when he first meets other world leaders, he remains a deeply unpredictable figure and any dealings with him can leave you crashing into the rocks. Continue reading...

PM aims to ‘stem poisonous tide’ of disinformation and deepfakes with National Centre for Information Defence Security chiefs will set up a new national centre to tackle disinformation and deepfakes from hostile states such as Russia, Andy Burnham has announced, saying the government had a duty to “stem the poisonous tide” from damaging British interests. The National Centre for Information Defence will “detect, attribute and disrupt” information attacks by foreign powers, many of which are enabled by AI , bringing together the intelligence agencies, law enforcement and social media companies. Continue reading...

Ed Davey’s strategy is meant to build a ‘firewall’ of MPs to prevent Reform UK entering government. The stakes are high if he gets it wrong No politician craves obscurity, but it is better to be unknown than despised. That is consolation for Liberal Democrats, gathered in Brighton for their annual conference, fretting about Ed Davey’s low profile and wondering whether a more prominent leader would hoist their flagging poll ratings. Renewal by decapitation is a concept that has succeeded twice this parliament for other parties. Labour’s fortunes were transformed when Andy Burnham entered No 10. The Greens enjoyed a polling surge last year when Zack Polanski was elected leader. In the fidgety culture of British politics, Davey’s six-year reign feels like an aeon . But the experience of other parties has little to teach the Lib Dems. Continue reading...

Burnham seemed nervous at first, knowing how explosive these encounters with Trump can be, writes BBC political editor Chris Mason.

UK PM Burnham condemned Israel’s war on Gaza, and explains why the UK sanctioned illegal Israeli settlements.

Britain's newbie prime minister got through an hour with the U.S. president mostly unscathed. But the immediate differences were on show more than with Keir Starmer.

In his first speech to the UN as UK prime minister, Burnham highlighted the risks posed by Russian disinformation.

The UK could act as "an honest broker" on AI and other global challenges, the prime minister tells world leaders at the UN.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham addressed the UN General Assembly, accusing Russia of information warfare.

President says US is ‘leading over China by a lot and everyone else, and we’re going to keep it that way’
Carney announced the funding ahead of a meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and French President Emmanuel Macron at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

IPPR North says one bad decision could derail devolution agenda as regions gain control of billions in funding England’s mayors should face much greater official scrutiny to avoid Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda being “derailed by one bad decision”, a thinktank has said. Ministers will set out plans next month to give regional leaders control over potentially billions of pounds of additional funding under a “transformational” shift of power outside Whitehall. Continue reading...

Andy Burnham appears likely to promote support for Ukraine and hold to tough lines on Israel and the war on Iran.

Trump remained polite and friendly throughout a news conference following his meeting with Burnham, offering largely diplomatic answers to potential flashpoint topics.

US president calls UK prime minister ‘a natural businessperson’ as leaders meet at UN assembly in New York Donald Trump has asserted his relationship with the UK is “more up” with Andy Burnham than under Keir Starmer despite tensions between the two countries on a range of thorny issues including regulation of artificial intelligence, the Chagos islands and the war in Iran. At their first face-to-face meeting, the US president praised Burnham, who sat nervously alongside him, as a “natural businessperson”, saying he thought he had “lots of assets on his side” and would be a “great” prime minister. Continue reading...

The British prime minister’s relationship with the U.S. president begins on a positive note, yet multiple areas of friction remain.