As Andy Burnham prepares to enter Downing Street, the man who has spent 25 years in politics is facing a defining question about Britain’s place in the world – and, according to diplomats, he has left them frustratingly short-changed.
Lucy Powell, the Labour deputy leader, described Burnham as a leader with “big ideas”, telling Channel 4 News that he is promising “monumental change”. But that praise comes as foreign leaders and diplomats who have been tapping up contacts for information over the past few weeks have been left without answers about Burnham’s foreign policy vision.
“Andy Burnham faces foreign policy test as diplomats frustrated by his silence; Powell calls him 'big ideas'”
Over his quarter-century in politics, Burnham has said little about foreign policy. The question now is whether he will continue Keir Starmer’s cautious and quiet approach of edging the UK slightly closer to Europe while trying not to offend the US, or whether he will side with a growing number of allies who see a rupture in the world order.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has already framed the choice starkly, arguing that Donald Trump has created a “rupture in the world order”. The New Statesman, in an editorial urging Burnham not to bow to Trump, called for a radical change in the UK’s posture on the world stage.
Powell’s remarks suggest that the incoming prime minister is not short of ambition. “He’s got big ideas,” she said, though she offered no detail on how those ideas might apply to foreign affairs. The gap between domestic promise and international silence is becoming harder to ignore.
With the US president threatening to upend the transatlantic alliance and European partners watching for signs of a shift, Burnham’s first decisions on the global stage will be closely scrutinised. The diplomatic community, already frustrated by the lack of clarity, is waiting to see whether the man with big ideas will use them to redraw Britain’s relationships – or keep his head down.
