Burnham meets Trump at UN in first face-to-face talks

Prime Minister Andy Burnham held his first in-person meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York. The encounter comes just two months into Burnham's premiership, despite earlier expectations he would skip the General Assembly.

Burnham has positioned himself as a domestically focused leader, contrasting with predecessor Keir Starmer's frequent international travel. Senior Whitehall officials had privately doubted Burnham would attend the UN gathering until he announced the trip himself.

“The British people at home are at the forefront of everything we do internationally.”

The prime minister's office said Burnham would use the Trump meeting to advance UK interests, framing foreign engagement through the lens of reducing living costs at home. Burnham previously won an internal argument to hold the first Trump encounter in New York rather than Washington.

Since taking office, Burnham has visited Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. He plans to attend the COP31 climate summit in Turkey this November.

A decision is pending on whether Burnham will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda and the G20 summit at Trump National Doral Miami in December. Britain will host the G20 next year in Manchester.