Andy Burnham built his reputation running a city. Now he has days to prove he can run a country’s place in the world
Andy Burnham will become Britain’s new prime minister on Monday, July 20, moving into Downing Street after nearly a decade governing Manchester as its mayor. He replaces Keir Starmer, who leaves office after just two years, in a transition happening now in London as Labour hopes Burnham can halt the rise of Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist party, Reform UK. The change matters well beyond Britain’s borders because Burnham arrives with almost no foreign policy track record at a moment when he must quickly navigate relationships with Washington, Brussels, Kyiv and beyond, according to a media report.
Burnham’s political career until now has been almost entirely domestic. Over nine years as mayor of Manchester, he earned the nickname King of the North, presiding over a local economy that grew faster than the national average while poverty declined in the city’s inner districts, the same reporting notes. His approachable style, dark T-shirts, jeans and simple black-framed glasses, along with his relaxed manner and quick wit, made him one of the most popular politicians in northern England. He recently won a parliamentary by-election there by a landslide, securing the House of Commons seat that opened his path to Downing Street. Nearly all Labour MPs now back him as leader.
Foreign policy is a different matter entirely. President Donald Trump, asked recently by journalists about Burnham, replied simply that he did not know him, adding that he believed Burnham was, in his words, the mayor of a small city. Burnham has little room to dwell on the dismissive remark, given the scale of the international challenges now landing on his desk.
A delicate balance with Washington, a sharper tone on Israel
Britain’s relationship with the United States carries particular weight for whoever holds the office. The two countries are bound closely through the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, and London depends more heavily on security cooperation with Washington than many other European capitals. An open rupture with Trump would carry real risk.
Mihir Sharma of the London-based Institute for Public Policy Research described the United States as an indispensable partner for Britain, both for its service-based economy and for its security, according to the DW report. That relationship had already grown strained under Starmer, after London initially refused to let the United States use British military bases for strikes on Iran. Trump responded by criticising Starmer directly, saying he was no Winston Churchill.
Burnham may chart a different course specifically in the Middle East. He has pledged to increase pressure on the Israeli government, including tougher sanctions and a ban on trade in goods originating from illegal settlements. He has also apologised for Britain’s initial support of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, a notable break from his predecessor’s posture.
In Ukraine, however, continuity looks far more likely than change. In an article for The Times, Burnham reaffirmed Britain’s commitment to its existing alliances and leadership role, writing that Britain’s own security is directly linked to Ukraine’s.
That language suggests President Volodymyr Zelensky can expect a similar level of support from Burnham as he received from Starmer, who had played a leading role alongside France and Germany in Europe’s so-called coalition of the willing. Burnham has also pledged to maintain Britain’s nuclear deterrent, a signal aimed at reassuring allies who might otherwise question continuity under an untested leader.
Personnel decisions will offer an early clue to Burnham’s approach. It remains unclear whether he will appoint a new foreign secretary or retain Yvette Cooper in the role. National security adviser Jonathan Powell, however, is expected to stay in his post, a decision widely seen as a win for Burnham, since Powell is regarded as one of Britain’s most accomplished diplomats, with deep ties in both Washington and Kyiv.
Brussels waits to see if the “reset” continues
Perhaps the most closely watched question concerns Britain’s relationship with the European Union. At last year’s Labour Party conference, Burnham said he hoped Britain would rejoin the EU within his lifetime, a comment that raised hopes among pro European voices that he might push even further than Starmer, under whom UK EU ties had already improved significantly.
Not everyone expects that ambition to translate into immediate action. Anand Menon, a Europe expert at King’s College London, offered a more skeptical reading, suggesting Burnham is likely to give less priority to the reset with the EU because it demands substantial political effort while delivering comparatively modest results in the near term, according to the DW report.
Menon does see room for a longer term shift. With migration to Britain having fallen sharply in recent years, he argues London could eventually become more open to accepting limited immigration from the EU again, a change that could in turn pave the way for closer economic cooperation and help revive Britain’s sluggish economy.
A British led security pact for Europe
One of the more ambitious possibilities floated by analysts involves European defence. Sharma believes Burnham could propose a wide-ranging European security pact, covering military cooperation, clean technology supply chains and artificial intelligence.
Britain remains a major military power, Sharma noted, and European security would be strengthened if the country took a more active role in shared defence projects and contributed to protecting Europe’s industrial base. He suggested Burnham should look beyond the traditional partnership with France and Germany, and instead pursue closer defence ties with the Nordic countries or Poland, which he believes would be more receptive to expanded cooperation.
For now, these remain possibilities rather than commitments. Concrete signals about how Burnham intends to shape Britain’s global relationships are still scarce, and he is stepping into a role unlike anything in his previous career.
The qualities that made him one of Britain’s most popular politicians in Manchester, pragmatism, approachability and sharp political instinct, served him well in running a city. Whether they are enough to navigate Washington, manage an increasingly complicated relationship with Brussels, and hold steady on Ukraine while reshaping Britain’s stance on the Middle East is a test no one, including Burnham himself, has yet had the chance to answer.
