‘Cool’ Andy Burnham won’t let Trump get under his skin, Neil Kinnock says

Neil Kinnock has insisted Andy Burnham will keep his cool against Donald Trump and quickly win the support of other European leaders after becoming prime minister.

The former Labor leader acknowledged pressure will mount on the incoming Prime Minister, but backed Mr Burnham to take office and succeed on the world stage; This includes dealing with the cranky US President.

But he signaled a potential foreign policy headache ahead for Mr Burnham by criticizing Labour’s “counterproductive” international aid cuts.

He said his late wife, Glenys, who was a minister under Gordon Brown, would never stop fighting the party on policy.

Lord Kinnock, who met Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1984, said: “Andy must deal with Trump carefully, as hedgehogs make love.” Independent.

“It’s such a simple thing, but no one needs to tell him that. That’s what he’ll do.”

He added: “The good thing about Andy is he’s a very cool guy. He doesn’t go up in flames.

“I would have difficulty with Trump because my nerve level is very, very low.

“Andy’s isn’t either, which is a real plus. So he’ll hold his temper and discipline him if he doesn’t really bite his tongue, so it’ll be okay.”

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But when it came to European leaders, he said they would be “quickly reassured by Andy” after Sir Keir Starmer had built “genuine trust and admiration” across the bloc.

Speaking Lord Kinnock Independent as part of it Europe: The Way Back Urging Britain to rebuild its relationship with Europe, his campaign team said the passion for devolution that Mr Burnham talked about in his first major policy speech on Monday “means that much of what he proposes in much of the rest of Europe is traditional politics”. They know what Andy is talking about when he talks about devolution.

“I think there will be a relatively short bridge between trusting Keir and trusting Andy,” he said.

Lord Kinnock also rejected criticism from Sir John Major, who suggested in this publication last week that it was a step from being in charge of buses in Manchester to specializing in international relations.

Lord Kinnock said it was a “frank assessment” and that “the man on the entire planet who knows this best is Andy Burnham”.

“He shouldn’t be intimidated by this, because of course John Major will be the first to realize that there are some common requirements.”

These include a strong sense of purpose, trust, getting people to work together, stopping them from being ideological or dogmatic, and the ability to negotiate, he said.

“Both in terms of his clarity of direction and purpose, which is invaluable, and the fact that he’s a normal guy who can get along with just about anyone – “Andy will be fine,” he said.

Lord Kinnock also criticized the government’s decision to fund higher defense spending through cuts in development aid, one of Glenys’s main ambitions, and argued that the policy risked being self-defeating.

He warned that in conflict situations such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, aid could mean the difference between a young person going to university or becoming involved in a life of violence.

“There is a great need for a realignment of priorities and Glenys would strongly advocate for this,” he said.

“I don’t think there was anyone in the (Labour) movement who thought she wouldn’t be disappointed, but she was never quietly disappointed. Glenys could have been fatally disappointed,” he said.

“He never stopped campaigning.”

He recalled one of the key slogans that guided his politics: “It is the duty of those who are free to extend the freedom of others.”

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