Burnham’s biggest challenge may not be at home

For Andy Burnham, perhaps the most important – and most difficult – test of his premiership is now approaching.

His first month in Downing Street has been dominated by domestic priorities, with a clear emphasis on demonstrating that government is acting to ease the pressures of the cost of living.

READ MORE: Burnham backs Ukraine, but now needs to pay for Britain’s defence

But his first foreign trip, to Ukraine, has made clear that Burnham can no longer rely on domestic policy as the defining feature of his premiership. His foreign policy is having to develop at remarkable speed.

In Kyiv, Burnham made clear that there would be no change in Britain’s steadfast support for Ukraine, echoing the approach successfully established by Keir Starmer. He has urged allies to provide more Patriot missiles, while opening the way for Ukraine to use declassified information about British components in Storm Shadow missiles. The message is unmistakable: Britain intends to remain deeply committed to Ukraine.

But maintaining that commitment may be considerably easier than navigating Donald Trump.

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Burnham’s likely attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York places him on the verge of his first major international diplomatic test, with British officials already preparing for the possibility of a meeting with the US president. Trump is an unpredictable negotiating partner, and Starmer’s experience provides an obvious warning.

A relationship that initially appeared productive became considerably more difficult when disagreements emerged over Greenland and the US-led war against Iran.

Starmer refused to yield to Trump’s pressure over Greenland, while Britain deliberately stayed out of the initial US-Israeli strikes on Iran, a decision Trump publicly criticised.

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For Burnham, Ukraine will therefore be only one part of the challenge. Gaza and the wider humanitarian crisis in the Middle East are also expected to feature at the UN, creating another arena in which Britain’s position may not always align with Washington’s.

The greatest challenge may ultimately be less about choosing a foreign policy than judging whether each choice remains defensible as events change. In a world where international crises can escalate almost as quickly as Trump can post on Truth Social, Burnham will have to make decisions with consequences that are difficult to predict.

His domestic first month may have been encouraging. His foreign policy education, however, is only just beginning.

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