Burnham promises to show Trump the ‘best of Manchester’ in G20 visit after Don called new PM’s home city just a ‘town’

ANDY Burnham has promised to show Donald Trump “what Manchester had to offer” in a future visit. The new PM invited the President to come and visit for next year’s G20 summit in one of his first phone calls since taking office. The President has been invited to Manchester Credit: Alamy Burnham hopes to show him what the city has to offer Credit: EPA The G20 summit of world leaders will be held in Manchester next year – a decision made by Keir Starmer while he was still in office. Trump had previously described Burnham as “a mayor of a town” and had slammed the PM as “extremely liberal”. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! The t-shirt-wearing PM said the comment may have ruffled some feathers in Manchester, saying “that won’t have gone down fantastically well”. Burnham himself has also fired shots at the president, saying in 2017 that he would refuse to meet him as a “matter of principle” after accusing Trump of sharing “hateful extremist material” online. But the PM has since had to wheel back his remarks, saying that his plan to deal with Trump will be about “being yourself” while also “respecting the office, the UK-US relationship.” In a call with the US President today, Burnham talked about football, Manchester and the Iran war. He congratulated Trump on a successful World Cup and the pair agreed that England had an “excellent tournament”. A Downing Street spokesperson said they had also discussed defence and security, saying that the security of the UK and its allies was “at the top of his agenda”. Most read in The Sun Trump had previously blasted Starmer for refusing to open up new oil fields Credit: AFP Burnham rang a slew of leaders and EU senior officials in his first day in office Credit: AFP Donald Trump then offered an “update on the situation in the Middle East” while the PM highlighted his desire to open up the Strait of Hormuz, according to Downing Street. Though the leaders started on rocky footing, Trump recently hailed Burnham’s decision to open up two new gas and oil fields in Scotland. The PM has been tipped to reverse a Labour manifesto pledge and allow new North Sea licences in Rosebank and Jackdaw. Trump has celebrated the u-turn – after previously clashing with Starmer over the issue. In a Truth Social post the US president said: “The People of Aberdeen, in Scotland, are dancing in the streets because the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has stated that he will be opening up, all the way, the invaluable North Sea Oil!” The commander-in-chief also said the drilling would be an economic boost for Brits and transform the country from a “poverty stricen disaster” into one of the richest countries in the world. He added: “Britain pays Norway Billions of Dollars a year to buy its Oil, which they get from a less valuable part of the North Sea. “How ridiculous is that!” In a whirlwind of phonecalls since taking office, Andy Burnham has also chatted with Volodymyr Zelensky and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. The Ukrainian president wrote on X: “I was happy to speak with Andy Burnham and congratulate him on taking office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. “I truly appreciate that the support for Ukraine and our people will remain steadfast.” And Ursula von der Leyen hailed a “very good first discussion” and hinted that a UK-EU summit could be on the cards. 3 comments3