Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first visit to the United States has produced a broadly constructive beginning to his relationship with President Donald Trump but it would be premature to call it a diplomatic breakthrough. The meeting in New York, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, lasted longer than originally planned and was marked by unusually warm public comments from Trump. The US president described Burnham as a “natural businessperson” and said the relationship between Washington and London was doing well. For Burnham, that personal rapport matters. Britain needs a functioning relationship with its most important security ally and a major trading partner. Discussions covered trade, energy, immigration, Ukraine and the Middle East, giving the new prime minister an opportunity to establish his own relationship with Washington. Yet the visit also demonstrated the limits of personal diplomacy. Trump strongly criticised Britain’s agreement concerning the Chagos Islands, while differences remained over Iran and the regulation of artificial intelligence. The real measure of the visit will therefore not be the smiles, handshakes or flattering words exchanged in New York. It will be whether the new relationship produces tangible results particularly on trade, security, Ukraine and the international crises affecting Britain’s economy.
Burnham appears to have established a useful opening with Washington. The harder task now is to turn that opening into lasting British interests.
Labour’s Liverpool Moment: From Promises to Delivery
The Labour Party conference in Liverpool has been presented as a new beginning. Under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the party is seeking to replace the language of managerial caution with a more ambitious promise of national renewal. The message from the conference has been clear, Britain’s problems cannot be solved simply by managing decline. Burnham has placed housing, social care, energy, public services and regional economic growth at the centre of his political agenda. His proposed universal social care system, for example, represents a substantial ambition to treat care as a public service rather than primarily a private financial responsibility. Housing has also emerged as a central concern. Labour has announced a new “Your First Home” equity-loan scheme, intended to help first-time buyers who cannot rely on financial assistance from their families. The proposal would allow eligible buyers to purchase new-build homes with a 2.5 per cent deposit and a 20 per cent equity loan. The conference has also exposed the difficult economic choices confronting the new government. Chancellor John Healey has stressed fiscal discipline while proposing measures to increase employment and apprenticeships. His welfare-reform message indicates that Labour intends to combine greater social protection with stronger pressure to move people towards work. Energy policy is another important marker of the new direction. Burnham is proposing a publicly backed GB Grid, using funding previously allocated to Great British Energy, with the stated aim of expanding electricity connections and accelerating renewable energy. Foreign policy has not been absent from the debate. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband used his conference address to acknowledge the strength of criticism over Labour’s previous approach to Palestine and Gaza, signalling a significant change in the language of the government. But a conference is ultimately a political showcase. The real test will come after Liverpool, when promises meet budgets, institutional resistance and the limits of public finances. Burnham has Labour’s Liverpool Moment: From Promises to Delivery. The Labour Party conference in Liverpool has been presented as a new beginning. Under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, the party is seeking to replace the language of managerial caution with a more ambitious promise of national renewal. The message from the conference has been clear: Britain’s problems cannot be solved simply by managing decline. Burnham has placed housing, social care, energy, public services and regional economic growth at the centre of his political agenda. His proposed universal social care system, for example, represents a substantial ambition to treat care as a public service rather than primarily a private financial responsibility. Housing has also emerged as a central concern. Labour has announced a new “Your First Home” equity-loan scheme, intended to help first-time buyers who cannot rely on financial assistance from their families. The proposal would allow eligible buyers to purchase new-build homes with a 2.5 per cent deposit and a 20 per cent equity loan. The conference has also exposed the difficult economic choices confronting the new government. Chancellor John Healey has stressed fiscal discipline while proposing measures to increase employment and apprenticeships. His welfare-reform message indicates that Labour intends to combine greater social protection with stronger pressure to move people towards work. Energy policy is another important marker of the new direction. Burnham is proposing a publicly backed GB Grid, using funding previously allocated to Great British Energy, with the stated aim of expanding electricity connections and accelerating renewable energy. Foreign policy has not been absent from the debate. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband used his conference address to acknowledge the strength of criticism over Labour’s previous approach to Palestine and Gaza, signalling a significant change in the language of the government. But a conference is ultimately a political showcase. The real test will come after Liverpool, when promises meet budgets, institutional resistance and the limits of public finances. Burnham has promised that difficult decisions will not be avoided. That is precisely the standard by which this new Labour government should now be judged: not by the applause generated in Liverpool, but by whether its ambitious promises can be translated into practical improvements in people’s lives.promised that difficult decisions will not be avoided. That is precisely the standard by which this new Labour government should now be judged: not by the applause generated in Liverpool, but by whether its ambitious promises can be translated into practical improvements in people’s lives.
