Trump Takes First Aim At Andy Burnham, Saying 'He's Extremely Liberal' and 'Won't Open Up the North Sea'

The man who could be Britain's next prime minister now has a problem, and his name is Donald Trump. The US president branded Andy Burnham 'extremely liberal' on Wednesday, 24 June, warned he 'won't open up the North Sea,' and declared that 'the UK is dying.' It was the first shot in what could become the most turbulent chapter in UK-US relations in a generation.

But here's the twist: Trump may have just given Burnham an unexpected boost. On the British left, being called 'extremely liberal' by the US president is less an insult than an invitation. Burnham hasn't even formally launched his leadership campaign yet, and Trump has already handed him his best campaign poster.

And perhaps most tellingly of all: Trump didn't even know who he was talking about.

'I don't know, I think I see that he was, I guess, the mayor of a town,' the president shrugged, when reporters asked him about Burnham during a Nato meeting with Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

The man Trump was so vague about is Andy Burnham who is a former Mayor of Manchester, a one-time Health Secretary under Gordon Brown, and now the clear frontrunner to succeed Keir Starmer, who is stepping down as UK Prime Minister.

Trump, apparently unaware of all of that, pressed on regardless. 'I hear he's extremely liberal, extremely, so that means he probably won't open up the North Sea,' he said.

His claim that 'the UK is dying' landed with particular force. It was an extraordinary thing for an ally to say publicly, and one that will not be forgotten quickly in Westminster.

A Badge of Honour on the British Left

For a Labour membership that has little affection for the American president, being called 'extremely liberal' by Trump is less an attack than a compliment.

The two men have made no secret of their dislike for one another. As rioters stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, Burnham posted on X: 'Any UK politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now.'

More recently, whilst campaigning in Makerfield, a constituency in the north-west of England where Labour is fighting to rebuild its working-class support, he described American politics as 'polarised' and 'poisonous.'

That track record which was once seen as a potential liability — now looks, after Trump's broadside, like a strength. Every Labour member who cheered those words will today be reminded of them. And reminded of exactly who is doing the attacking.

A Fresh Start After Starmer's Careful Approach

Few prime ministers have worked harder to keep Washington onside than Keir Starmer. Since Trump returned to power in November 2024, Starmer pursued a painstaking strategy of engagement softening his tone and going out of his way to maintain a working relationship with an unpredictable president.

That goodwill, however, has recently collapsed over the Iran conflict, leaving the relationship between Britain and America in a far more fragile state, even before a new leader takes over.

Nowhere is that gap clearer than on energy. Trump's North Sea comment was not a throwaway line — it was a deliberate signal. The US president has made expanding oil and gas production a cornerstone of his foreign policy. Burnham stands for the opposite. As Mayor of Manchester, he set targets to make Greater Manchester carbon-neutral by 2038. The two men could scarcely be further apart.

Burnham's team has stayed silent, and that silence may itself be the strategy. With the Labour leadership race his to lose, why respond when Trump is already doing the work for him?

Trump set out to cast doubt on Britain's next prime minister. He may have ended up giving him the biggest helping hand of his political career.