Andy Burnham is about to become prime minister, yet after 25 years in politics he has said strikingly little about foreign policy — and foreign leaders and diplomats tapping up contacts for information have been left “frustratingly short-changed”.
The silence has become urgent as the Labour leader prepares to inherit a world stage in flux. Lucy Powell, the party’s deputy leader, told Channel 4 News that Burnham promises “monumental change” and “he’s got big ideas”. But the question now is whether those ideas extend beyond Britain’s borders.
“Burnham's foreign policy silence concerns diplomats as he prepares to become PM amid Trump-era rupture.”
Will he continue Keir Starmer’s cautious approach of edging the UK closer to Europe while trying not to offend the United States? Or does he side with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has declared that Donald Trump has created a “rupture in the world order”?
The New Statesman this week warned that Burnham must not bow to Trump, arguing that “our posture on the world stage needs radical change”. As the new prime minister prepares to take office, the world is watching to see which direction he will choose.