I will stand up to President Trump if I have to, says Andy Burnham

Andy Burnham has said he will always put Britain’s interests first in his relations with the US, even if it means disagreeing with Donald Trump.

The new prime minister told BBC‘s Laura Kuenssberg stated that she would openly oppose the US president if necessary, adding: “You have to defend your own national interests first and foremost. That’s what you have to do if you want to do this job properly.”

He said: “I can’t say I wouldn’t take a different view from him on any occasion. [Trump]“I will have to voice a different idea that is right for Britain.”

He also later twice refused to say whether he trusted President Trump with the same message from new defense secretary Wes Streeting.

The pair spoke on the phone on Monday, within an hour of Mr Burnham’s arrival at Downing Street, in a conversation described by Downing Street as “exceptionally cordial”.

Following the meeting, Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Mr. Burnham “has a big job ahead of him, but he can do it,” and promised that the United States “will be there to help.”

It comes after relations between Washington and Sir Keir Starmer’s government became increasingly strained over the Iran conflict after Britain initially refused to allow the US to use the bases for offensive attacks on the regime.

Meanwhile, Mr Burnham has made clear he plans to find the money to plug Britain’s defense spending black hole and meet its international commitments.

The Prime Minister has faced some criticism for not holding major interviews or press conferences since taking over from Keir Starmer last Monday.

But in an interview to be published in full on Monday, Mr Burnham addressed one of the biggest issues he will face as prime minister.

Its new chancellor, John Healey, resigned from Starmer’s government over the £13bn deficit in the Defense Recovery Plan. It was later revealed there was a further £4.7bn black hole in what had been promised.

The new prime minister has made it clear that he appointed Mr Healey as chancellor with his remarks on defense spending in mind, and he intends to come up with the money at a time when questions are being asked about how he plans to fund other smaller commitments, including removing VAT from energy bills, raising pub and club business rates to 20 per cent and capping bus fares at £2.

Mr Burnham said: “I appointed my new chancellor conscious of what he has said about the critical importance of defense spending and the stance he has taken on this issue.

“The first challenge we both face is ensuring that the defense investment plan is fully funded, and that’s what’s in front of us, and that’s what we need to work on as we move towards the budget later this year.”

But Mr Burnham also made clear he was ruling out an early election to get a new mandate that would allow him to raise taxes such as income tax, VAT or national insurance.

Currently, Labour’s 2024 manifesto, which Mr Burnham said he would stand behind, rules out raising those big taxes.

He said: “I’ll ignore that. I don’t think people want that.”

Instead, he added, the focus is on “getting the country back to where it should be.”

Speaking later to Sir Trevor Phillips on Sky News’ Sunday morning programme, Mr Streeting also insisted the money would be found.

He said: “The Chancellor’s position is clear. My position is clear. During my brief period of freedom in the backbenches, I was also clear that we needed to invest more in our defence.”

Mr Healey, meanwhile, stated that Burnham’s government would, above all, actively seek to buy off the British.

he said Sun on Sunday: “You will see this as a decisive move that you have never seen before from any British government.

“Not to buy British if possible, but by design. So every buying pound supports British jobs, British apprenticeships and British skills.”

“We encourage wealth creation so that the policy decisions we make in government help raise levels of investment, profits and innovation in British business.”