Andy Burnham urged to ditch Trump strategy and rebuild ties with Europe

Andy Burnham is being urged to prioritise Europe over the US amid criticism that his predecessor was too close to Donald Trump.

Britain’s likely next prime minister is being told to spend his early political capital on Brussels, not Washington – a direct rejection of the strategy Sir Keir Starmer pursued with the US President.

Critics of Starmer’s approach point to Trump’s Oval Office confrontation with Volodymyr Zelensky, in February last year, as the moment Britain should have pivoted towards Europe.

A Foreign Office insider said Downing Street failed to recognise the difference between a second Trump presidency and his first, arguing that it continued to pursue the “Shinzo Abe strategy” of acting as a critical but supportive ally. Abe, Japan’s former prime minister, had followed such as policy in relations with the USA.

But for Britain, “that should have changed when Zelensky came to the UK after his row with Trump,” the source said.

Instead, the source argued, Downing Street should have used the moment to reorient towards Europe and prepare the public for the prospect of defending the West against Russia without US support.

“They should have pivoted towards Europe at that moment and told the public that the country was at risk of fighting Russia without America in 10 years’ time,” the source said.

The source added that ministers had “backed the wrong horse” by betting on closer ties with the US, believing it would unlock a major technology deal.

“They were led to believe there was a pot of gold waiting for them with an American tech deal,” the source said. “That’s what they were advised by Lord Mandelson, but it didn’t exist.”

Britain hosts both a G20 and a G7 in short order next year. “We have to make these big circus events succeed, so that limits how far you can play a [Mark} Carney or [Perdro] Sánchez,” one senior Whitehall source said, naming the leaders of Canada and Spain who have kept Trump at arm’s length.

However, not everyone in government agrees that Burnham does not need to learn to become a Trump whisperer, as Starmer did. A No 10 source said that downgrading the “special relationship” with the US would be “economic suicide”.

“It’s easy for people to talk about prioritising the European relationship when you are sitting looking on from the sidelines,” the source said.

“People underestimate how dependent we are on the US for defence and technology. It’s not as easy as just prioritising Brussels.”

Another British official with close links to the White House described the trade-offs even more starkly: “Burnham needs to understand that the US is the security guarantor of the UK.

“The US wants to work with the UK on becoming energy independent and efficient. A great way to make a first impression will be to find ways to grow nuclear energy and start permitting again in the North Sea.”

The source also echoed concerns reportedly raised by senior officials in Trump’s administration about the prospect of Burnham appointing Ed Miliband as chancellor .

“Making Red Ed Miliband the Chancellor of the Exchequer will turn off American investors,” the source added.

One of the main reasons for maintaining a close relationship with the US, the source argued, was the Ukraine conflict: “A fracture in the transatlantic alliance is exactly what Russia needs.”

Trump has already dismissed Burnham, calling him “the mayor of a town” and “extremely liberal”, and making clear he is in no hurry to host him.

The US President’s intervention has highlighted what could become one of the defining foreign policy challenges of Burnham’s premiership: managing relations with an American leader he has repeatedly criticised in the past.

Like many senior Labour figures, Burnham has been openly critical of Trump over the years. In 2017, he told the Manchester Evening News that he would refuse to meet the US President during a planned state visit to Manchester “as a matter of principle”, accusing Trump of sharing “hateful extremist material” online.

He also urged then-prime minister Theresa May to withdraw the invitation for Trump’s state visit.

Following the 2021 riots at the US Capitol, Burnham wrote on X that “any UK politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now”.

Burnham has also criticised the wider tone of American politics under Trump. During his campaign to become MP for Makerfield, he described US politics as “polarised” and “poisonous”.

Despite his past criticism, Labour has previously demonstrated an ability to build working relationships with figures in the Republican administration. Foreign Secretary David Lammy developed a close relationship with US Vice President JD Vance despite earlier disagreements with Trump.

One source close to both the US President and Nigel Farage said he thought the men would get on well. “Trump is all about relationships,” he said. The source called Burnham “great company personally” even though his politics are “off skew”, and predicted that most friction would be manageable save for one exception.

“If Andy tries to introduce any digital tax, Trump will go for him,” he said.

The bigger problem for Burnham, according to one Downing Street official, is that the UK has fallen down the list of Trump’s priorities as he prepares for the US midterm elections. “The UK has already played its trump card by flattering Trump with a second state visit. Since then, the UK is no longer first on his list of priorities.”

If Burnham becomes prime minister later this month, as is widely expected, he takes on the job with little foreign-policy experience. He has spent the past nine years as the Mayor of Greater Manchester, almost entirely focused on domestic delivery.

He will inherit a live war in Ukraine, an unresolved conflict in the Middle East, a rising China, and an incomplete EU reset.

The big prize, senior Whitehall sources argue, is a warmer relationship with Europe.

Burnham’s pick for chief of staff James Purnell is a “known pro-European” – a contrast, the source said, to the “frosty vibe” his predecessor Morgan McSweeney had with European counterparts.

One complaint from Europe is that it has been left waiting by Starmer to articulate his vision for a future relationship.

A source close to the Foreign Office said: “The Europeans thought what Keir Starmer did on Ukraine was great and they all folded in behind us. They were waiting for a similar conversation about European relations and it never happened.”

Even within existing red lines – no customs union, no rejoining – far more is achievable, and faster, the source believes.

David Miliband is the frontrunner to become Burnham’s foreign secretary – an idea that has been welcomed by those who have worked in the Foreign Office. “You need a heavy hitter in the Foreign Office to take the weight off No 10,” one senior Whitehall source said.

The alternative is continuity. Yvette Cooper has built a close working relationship with her US counterpart Marco Rubio over major decisions on Ukraine, Gaza and Iran.

Whoever takes on the role will face major challenges in their in-tray.

Ukraine is close to a given for an early visit by Burnham. “All the difficult decisions were taken by Keir… all he has to do is fund it,” said a former Foreign Office official, who warned that skipping Kyiv early would send an unmistakably bad signal.

China is the one genuinely open call. “It’s the leading superpower of our age, it’s a complicated relationship and it should be,” a senior Whitehall source said.

Britain entered government with the weakest China relationship in the G7 and has since normalised it, resisting the hawkish line taken by most European peers bar Spain. Now Chinese EVs and cheap goods are flooding Europe. “Andy will have to make a decision based on his so-called Makerfield test”: defend British industry, or keep prices low to ease the cost of living crisis.

On the claim that Burnham has no foreign-policy experience, one Whitehall source pushed back, pointing to a Gulf trip where regional investors wanted to partner with him and invest money in the North West. Manchester City’s transformation under Abu Dhabi ownership is often cited as a flagship example of Gulf-linked investment reshaping parts of east Manchester, particularly around the Etihad Campus.

“The movers and shakers in the Gulf states know exactly who he is and see him as a great partner,” the source said.

For Burnham, the question is whether he can convert a reputation for domestic delivery and international relationship-building into a coherent foreign policy that holds together under pressure from Washington.