EU leaders line up to congratulate 'dear Andy' Burnham after he vows to continue to move Brexit Britain back towards Brussels

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 09:02 EDT, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 09:20 EDT, 20 July 2026 Andy Burnham was congratulated by EU leaders as he became the latest pro-European Labour leader to become Prime Minister. They queued up to lavish praise on the former Greater Manchester mayor after he officially replaced Sir Keir Starmer today.Although Mr Burnham is expected to focus more on domestic issues than his predecessor, who was dubbed 'never here Keir' by critics, he has vowed to build on work done to tighten relations, especially defence and trade. Having previously said Labour should be arguing forcefully that leaving the EU was a 'mistake', he has now said he would not seek to reverse Brexit.European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she looked forward to working with Mr Burnham for the 'prosperity of people on both sides of the Channel'.She said in a post on X: 'Congratulations, dear Andy Burnham, on your confirmation as Prime Minister.'I look forward to working with you to strengthen the EU-UK partnership.'For the security of our shared continent. And the prosperity of people on both sides of the Channel.'Echoing her calls for closer ties, president of the European Council Antonio Costa said: 'In the last two years EU-UK relations gained a new, positive momentum. I look forward to continuing to further deepen our co-operation for the benefit of our citizens and businesses.'The United Kingdom and the European Union are stronger together.'They queued up to lavish praise on the former Greater Manchester mayor after he officially replaced Sir Keir Starmer today European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she looked forward to working with Mr Burnham for the 'prosperity of people on both sides of the Channel'Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said: 'Congratulations and best wishes for a successful tenure to the new Prime Minister.'Italy and the United Kingdom are bound by a deep friendship and a collaboration that, over the years, has grown ever stronger, also thanks to our joint work on key dossiers fundamental to our nations: from managing migratory flows to the major international crises, always addressed with a great spirit of collaboration.'I am certain that we will continue down this path, strengthening our strategic partnership in the interest of our nations and our citizens.'German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said: 'Congratulations to Andy Burnham on taking office as Prime Minister. Germany and the United Kingdom are close partners. I look forward to working together.'Writing in the Times earlier this month, Mr Burnham said he wanted 'an even closer relationship with countries across Europe, citing the E3 (UK, France and Germany) and Nato.He added: 'I want to consolidate the progress made on the existing UK-EU negotiations and make further progress quickly, including by strengthening our co-operation on illegal migration, economic security and the broader resilience of our societies to external threats — from terrorism to AI-driven disinformation.' Mr Burnham said today that his first calls would include US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, adding that Britain's support for Ukraine would remain unchanged under his leadership.In a clip recorded before he was officially appointed as British leader but released after his speech in Downing Street, Burnham was asked who he would contact first and whether that would be Trump, Zelenskiy or another world leader.He replied by saying those two would be among his first calls.He said he would make clear to Zelenskiy that there would be 'no change' in Britain's backing for Ukraine and that he would support the Ukrainian leader '100%' as his predecessor Keir Starmer had done.'President Zelenskiy will be left in no doubt whatsoever that Britain's support is steadfast, it is resolute. It will be there for him, and I will be there for him personally too,' Burnham told reporters.