New UK PM Burnham says he would be prepared to call out Trump

Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, said he would be willing to call on US President Donald Trump to defend Britain’s national interests as he sets the tone for the crucial trans-Atlantic relationship.

Speaking to BBC in a program report In the program broadcast on Sunday, Burnham said that she had a phone call with Trump on Monday when he officially took office, describing it as a “good change” and finding Trump “warm.”

“We will continue to evolve our relationship as we move forward,” Burnham added.

When asked if Burnham would trust Trump, Burnham said, “Isn’t this a changing world and obviously you have to name things as they evolve.”

Trump has frequently criticized Britain, as well as other European and NATO allies, for not doing their part in the US-led war on Iran.

But Trump welcomed Burnham’s plan to accelerate oil and gas exploration in already licensed fields in the North Sea. Writing on Truth Social last week, Trump described North Sea oil as “priceless” and added that it would take Britain “from a Poverty-War Disaster to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the world.”

Trump had criticized Burnham’s predecessor, Keir Starmer, for Britain’s energy policy. In an interview with The Telegraph newspaper in April, Trump said: “All Starmer wants is costly windmills that send your energy prices through the roof.”

Starmer announced last month that he would leave his post. His two years in office have been marked by U-turns on a range of policies, scandals over staff appointments and a dramatic loss in Britain’s local elections that led to calls for resignation from his own ranks.

When BBC reporter Laura Kuenssberg asked Trump whether it was the right thing to do, Burnham replied “of course” and added: “First of all, you have to defend your own national interests. If you want to do this job properly, that’s what you have to do.”

“I can’t say that I would never have received a different view from him, that I should have voiced a different view that was right for Britain,” Burnham said.

Burnham refused to set a date for increasing defense spending to 3% of GDP.

Britain’s new finance minister, John Healey, known as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Burnham, is expected to see defense spending as a priority. Healey’s appointment as Burnham’s second-in-command comes just weeks after Starmer resigned as defense secretary, citing his view that the government was “unwilling to commit the resources the nation needs to defend the country”.