Andy Burnham was formally sworn in as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom yesterday (20 July), after Keir Starmer stepped down last month. Soon after entering office, he held a call with US President Donald Trump.
Burnham, who was elected Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017 and went on to win re-election in 2021, quickly emerged as the leading name to succeed Starmer when the former Prime Minister announced his resignation in June. At that stage, however, Trump made clear he was not especially familiar with the new Prime Minister.
Asked about Burnham potentially taking over, the US President said: “I don’t know, I think I see that he was, I guess, the mayor of a town. I hear he’s extremely liberal, extremely, so that means he probably won’t open up the North Sea.”
The place Trump appeared to be referring to was Greater Manchester, where Burnham became Mayor in May 2017 before winning re-election in 2021.
Although Trump admitted last month that he knew little about him, the pair spoke yesterday by phone, with Burnham also extending an invitation for the President to visit Manchester in future.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister spoke to the President of the United States, Donald Trump, shortly after taking office this afternoon.
According to the statement, the conversation opened on a friendly note, with the two leaders discussing the World Cup. It added that the ‘Prime Minister began by congratulating the President on a successful World Cup,’ and both agreed England had performed well in finishing third.
“The Prime Minister also hoped that he would be able to show the President what Manchester had to offer during a visit in the future,” the statement continued.
Burnham also laid out some of his priorities as he begins his time in office, saying ‘he would be focused on ensuring reindustrialisation up and down the country to ensure good growth in every postcode’.
The spokesperson added that he also ‘underlined his commitment to defence and security and said ensuring the security of the UK and its Allies was at the top of his agenda.’
Bringing the summary of the call to a close, the statement said: “The President then updated on the situation in the Middle East, and the Prime Minister outlined the UK’s commitment to securing the movement of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to support global supply chains and drive down costs for businesses and families across the country.”
Both leaders are expected to speak again soon.
Burnham’s invitation to Trump marks a notable contrast with remarks he made several years ago.
In 2017, he told the Manchester Evening News that he would ‘refuse to meet the president out of principle’ if Trump visited the city on a State Visit.