Burnham to press Trump on Ukraine and Hormuz in first UN talks

Burnham will meet Trump at the UN with Ukraine and Hormuz at the top of the agenda. The encounter will show how far Britain can protect its interests while managing a difficult but vital US relationship.

In Short

• Burnham will urge more US interceptor missiles for Ukraine before winter
• Britain wants Strait of Hormuz shipping restored as conflict drives oil higher
• Past clashes with Trump now give way to a pragmatic reset

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to meet US President Donald Trump for the first time on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, with Ukraine and the rising economic cost of conflict in the Middle East expected to dominate the talks. Burnham is due to address world leaders on Tuesday and outline his view of Britain’s role in an increasingly fractured global order.

The meeting comes despite Burnham’s earlier sharp criticism of Trump, and at a time when Britain is trying to balance national interests with a difficult but important relationship with Washington. It also comes as countries such as Britain and Canada look to build stronger partnerships in response to Trump’s "America first" foreign policy.

US officials said Burnham and Trump will hold talks during the UN gathering. 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 strengthen Ukraine’s air defences ahead of another winter of war. The British government also wants to discuss restoring the free movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been largely blocked since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran in February. The disruption has pushed up oil prices and added to Burnham’s challenge of reviving Britain’s sluggish economy and easing the cost of living.

Burnham had been strongly critical of Trump in the past. In 2017, as mayor of Greater Manchester, he said the president would not be welcome in the city. Two years later, he said he would refuse to meet Trump if he visited. After becoming prime minister in July, however, Burnham said he always tries to find "common ground" with other politicians.

Burnham and Trump have spoken twice since Burnham replaced Keir Starmer as head of the centre-left governing party. Trump has called Burnham "a nice guy", but has also recently irritated British officials by backing Irish unification and speaking about the future of the Falkland Islands, which are claimed by both Britain and Argentina. Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said Burnham would be "pragmatic". "We won’t agree with the US administration on everything," she told Times Radio on Sunday. "We are from different political traditions, we have different 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."

Before Burnham took over, Starmer had sought to build ties with 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 UK. British officials believed that approach paid off when the UK reached a trade deal with the Trump administration. But Trump later soured on Starmer over his refusal to join the Iran war. The president has also repeatedly criticised Britain’s immigration and green energy policies and urged the country to open more of the North Sea to oil drilling. Burnham is expected to decide soon whether to approve new oil and gas fields off Scotland. British officials are also preparing for possible criticism over Britain’s ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and its moves to regulate large American technology firms.

Trump’s earlier threats to seize Greenland had alarmed Britain and other European allies, and Burnham was among the leaders who welcomed a deal between Greenland, Denmark and the US to expand the American military presence there while keeping the Arctic island under Danish control. Trump also has other major meetings this week, including one at the White House with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Burnham’s visit comes as middle-sized powers, led most openly by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, try to forge closer alliances. Burnham’s government wants Britain to play a bolder role internationally and rebuild some of the ties with Europe that were cut when the UK left the European Union in 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. It’s really clear that’s the only language the president respects," Davey said. As Burnham prepares for his first face-to-face meeting with Trump, the talks are expected to test how his government handles a relationship that is central to Britain’s wider diplomatic and economic interests.

With PTI Inputs

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