LONDON (AP) — Andy Burnham once said he would refuse to meet Donald Trump.
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he → say → Trump
Now Britain’s prime minister is about to hold his first meeting with the U.S. president, with Ukraine and the soaring cost of conflict in the Middle East at the top of his agenda.
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Ukraine → hold → agenda
U.S. officials say the two leaders will hold talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
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leaders → say → York
Burnham is set to address the annual gathering of world leaders on Tuesday, setting out his vision of Britain’s place in an increasingly fractured world order.
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Burnham → set → order
Burnham’s only other foreign trip since taking office in July was to Kyiv, and he has said he will urge Trump to send interceptor missiles to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses ahead of another winter of war.
The British government also wants to discuss ways to restore free movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, largely blocked since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran in February.
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government → take → February
The closure of the key route has sent oil prices spiking, complicating Burnham’s efforts to jump-start Britain’s sluggish economy and ease the cost of living.
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prices → send → living
Burnham says he’ll seek common ground
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he → say → ground
In 2017 Burnham, as the mayor of Greater Manchester, said the president wouldn’t be welcome in the city.
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president → say → city
Two years later he said he would refuse to meet Trump if he visited.
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he → say → Trump
After becoming prime minister in July, Burnham said he always tries to find “common ground” with other politicians.
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he → become → politicians
Burnham and Trump have spoken twice since Burnham replaced Keir Starmer at the helm of the center-left governing party.
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Burnham → speak → party
Trump has called Burnham “a nice guy,” but has also recently needled U.K. officials by expressing support for Irish unification and musing about the future of the Falkland Islands that are claimed by both Britain and Argentina.
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that → call → Britain
Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said Burnham would be “pragmatic.”
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Burnham → say → ?
“We won’t agree with the U.S. administration on everything,” Phillipson told Times Radio on Sunday.
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Phillipson → agree → Sunday
“We are from different political traditions, we have different approaches.
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we → have → approaches
But maintaining that relationship is critical for our national interest and I know that that’s the approach Andy Burnham will always take, putting our country first.”
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Burnham → maintain → country
Starmer went out of his way to flatter Trump, presenting him in the Oval Office in February 2025 with an invitation from King Charles III for an unprecedented second state visit to the U.K.
British officials felt Starmer’s approach was vindicated when the U.K. struck a trade deal with the Trump administration.
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U.K. → go → administration
But Trump soured on Starmer over his refusal to join the Iran war.
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Trump → sour → war
The president also has repeatedly criticized the U.K.’s immigration and green-energy policies, urging the country to open more of the North Sea up to oil drilling.
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president → criticize → drilling
Burnham is expected to announce a decision soon about whether to approve new oil and gas fields off Scotland.
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Burnham → expect → Scotland
U.K. officials also are braced for criticism of Britain’s ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and efforts to regulate big American technology firms.
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officials → brace → firms
Middle powers look to build stronger alliances
Trump’s threats to seize Greenland alarmed the U.K. and other European allies earlier this year, and Burnham was among leaders expressing relief at the announcement of a deal between Greenland, Denmark and the U.S. to bolster the American military presence there but keep the Arctic island under Danish control.
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Burnham → look → control
Trump has other, more high-profile, international meetings this week, including one at the White House with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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Trump → have → Jinping
Burnham’s trip comes as middle-sized powers, led most vocally by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, try to forge closer alliances in the face of Trump’s “America first” foreign policy.
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powers → come → policy
Burnham’s government wants Britain to be bolder on the world stage, and to restore some of the ties with Europe severed when the U.K. left the European Union in 2020.
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U.K. → want → 2020
Ed Davey, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, urged Burnham to “do what the Europeans are doing, what the Canadians are doing, and start saying to Donald Trump, ‘the way you’re treating our country, the way you’re treating the world, is not acceptable.’”
“I want him to stand up to Trump.
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him → urge → Trump
It’s really clear that’s the only language the president respects,” Davey said.
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Davey → ’ → ?
The Aporia
