Relations between Donald Trump and the new Prime Minister seemingly got off to a bumpy start last month.
Donald Trump and new UK Prime Minister have already spoken on the phone, it has been claimed (Image: GETTY)
Andy Burnham used his first call with Donald Trump to invite the US President to Manchester. It comes just a month after Mr Trump described the now-Prime Minister as “the mayor of a town” who he’d heard was “extremely liberal”.
POLITICO Europe political correspondent Sam Blewett reported that Mr Trump indicated he would like to take the new Prime Minister up on the offer, citing an official with knowledge of the call. Mr Burnham was previously Mayor of Greater Manchester, a region home to around three million people, before his return to frontline national politics and subsequent rise to Prime Minister. Downing Street has since revealed further details of the call, which took place shortly after Mr Burnham took office. A spokesperson said: “The prime minister began by congratulating the president on a successful World Cup and agreed that England had an excellent tournament. The prime minister also hoped that he would be able to show the president what Manchester had to offer during a visit in the future.”
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Scoop: I’m told Andy Burnham used his first call with Donald Trump to invite the president to Manchester
Trump indicated he’d like to take the new PM up on the offer, according to one official with knowledge of their call
— Sam Blewett (@BlewettSam) July 20, 2026
Mr Burnham also set out his vision for the country, telling the President he would focus on “ensuring re-industrialisation up and down the country to ensure good growth in every postcode”.
The Prime Minister underlined his commitment to defence and security, before Mr Trump provided an update on the situation in the Middle East.
Downing Street said Mr Burnham outlined the UK’s commitment to “securing the movement of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz to support global supply chains and drive down costs for businesses and families across the country”.
The two leaders “looked forward to speaking again soon”.
Relations between Donald Trump and the new Prime Minister seemingly got off to a bumpy start last month.
Asked what he knew about Mr Burnham, the US President admitted he knew little about the then-prospective Prime Minister, saying: “I don’t know, I think I see that he was, I guess, the mayor of a town. I hear he’s extremely liberal, extremely, so that means he probably won’t open up the North Sea.”
Andy Burnham has reportedly invited Donald Trump to Manchester, just hours after becoming Prime Minister (Image: Fred Duval/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)
However on Sunday, Mr Trump appeared to strike a warmer tone when he praised Mr Burnham over his stance on North Sea oil and gas.
In a lengthy post on Truth Social, the President claimed Mr Burnham had “stated” that he would be “opening up, all the way, the invaluable North Sea Oil”, although the incoming Prime Minister had made no such commitment.
Mr Burnham has committed to Labour’s 2024 manifesto but has suggested he will examine whether North Sea oil and gas could play a greater role in the UK’s energy mix.
He has not, however, pledged to issue new licences or open up the North Sea “all the way”, as Mr Trump claimed.
Meanwhile, Mr Burnham’s own views of the US President have shifted significantly over the years.
In 2017, he said he would refuse to meet Mr Trump as a “matter of principle” if the President visited Greater Manchester, telling the Manchester Evening News: “Donald Trump‘s presence in Greater Manchester would go against the values that people here stand for.”
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That same year, Mr Burnham called for the offer of a state visit to be withdrawn after Mr Trump criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s response to the London Bridge terror attack.
Four years later, on the day of the January 6 Capitol riot in 2021, Mr Burnham wrote on X that any UK politician who “gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now.”
However, Mr Burnham has appeared to soften his stance towards the President more recently. In an interview aired on July 15, he said he would deal with Mr Trump “very upfront in the same way I think he likes people to deal with him.”
Further details of the latest conversation between the two leaders are yet to be released.
However, the call could offer an early indication of how relations between Mr Burnham’s new government and the Trump administration will develop.
