How Trump and Putin Gave Britain’s New Prime Minister a Rude Awakening

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Or sign-in if you have an account.dp{34wmtw}aa4(}3g{13bmys_media_dl_1.png NATO, UK government(Bloomberg) — Andy Burnham barely had time to settle into his chair in No. 10 Downing St. before the problems of the world landed on his desk.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLYSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESSubscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLESCreate an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountHaving just become Britain’s new prime minister on Monday afternoon, Burnham was trying to put together his team of cabinet ministers when officials dragged him aside — phone calls had to be fielded from world leaders including Donald Trump and NATO chief Mark Rutte.Furthermore, he had to be briefed on concerning events across the globe. That morning, a Russian naval vessel conducted a rare live-fire weapons exercise in international waters, just 40 nautical miles south of England. And in the Middle East the US and Iran exchanged strikes for a 10th consecutive day, with Yemen’s Houthi militant group threatening ships in the Red Sea.Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Top Stories will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againBurnham was mayor of Greater Manchester until a few weeks ago and has come to power on a largely domestic agenda, promising to improve the lives of voters across Britain. Yet he is aware of concerns around his lack of experience on the international stage. Eager to reassure allies, he told Rutte that his decision to appoint a former defense secretary as chancellor of the Exchequer — John Healey — was a “signal of his intent,” implying strong funding for British armed forces. Trump said he had a “very good” conversation with the Labour leader, spanning North Sea oil, trade, the Strait of Hormuz and the military alliance. Burnham swiftly approved the use of British military bases by the US on Tuesday night.Still, the new PM’s picks for the foreign and defense ministries have raised eyebrows. He replaced Defense Secretary Dan Jarvis, a former Army officer and security minister who had only been in place less than six weeks, with Wes Streeting — a political rival who has no experience in the brief. Former Conservative defense secretary Ben Wallace said the move “shows a contempt for defense at a time they need continuity and someone who understands the new way of warfare.” Streeting is seen as a competent minister, however, having driven through reforms of the health service that reduced waiting times — something Keir Starmer highlights as a key success of his administration — and has spent recent weeks supporting Healey’s calls for higher defense spending. “I’m surrounded by people with exemplary records of military service, expertise and insight,” he told reporters at the Farnborough Airshow on Wednesday. “The job of the defense secretary is a different one: it is to make sure we set policy and strategy in the right place, give our armed services the resources they need.” Streeting will consider joining Canada’s multi-national defense bank, something Starmer’s administration resisted.This advertisement has not loaded yet.This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Ed Miliband, former Labour leader and a lightning rod for Britain’s right-wing media, was made Foreign Secretary. He has more experience, having built international relationships in his time as Energy Secretary, particularly at climate summits and the United Nations. But Trump and his ambassador to the UK have shown contempt for Miliband’s climate policies. They even exchanged terse words over wind turbines earlier this year: Trump saying they are “for losers,” Miliband saying they are “for winners.”Miliband has also been an outspoken critic of Trump in the past, calling him a “racist bigot,” accusing him of “misogyny” and having an “incredibly peculiar relationship with Russia,” — comments which are likely to put him on the back-foot with an increasingly hostile US administration. “It’s a very difficult brief at the moment: Donald Trump is wading into the quagmire in Iran, the war between Ukraine and Russia is actually escalating, there’s a lot of tensions in the South China sea,” former Foreign Secretary William Hague told Times Radio. “There’s questions over relations with Europe and the Trump administration is difficult on a daily basis to deal with.”Miliband has promised to “nurture our strong, enduring and essential alliance with the US,” and his allies say he intends to work productively with Trump’s team. He’s a substance-first politician who’s able to make even difficult relationships work, allies told Bloomberg. Other Foreign Secretaries such as David Lammy also shared similar negative sentiment about Trump in the past and still managed to develop close relations with their US counterparts. Streeting said Wednesday morning that Trump was right to expect Europe to spend more on defense, implying the new administration will seek a constructive relationship with the White House.Miliband will have a bilateral meeting with Marco Rubio on Wednesday. Rubio, seen by British diplomats as Trump’s most reliable and measured senior official, launched a campaign to dismantle the international criminal court last week. Miliband pointedly said this week that the threat to international law has never been greater since the second world war, in his first statement in the role, without making reference to a specific example. His early remarks suggest he will keep pursuing ambitious climate policies in his new role. While Trump rejoiced after Bloomberg reported Burnham was preparing to announce new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea, he also appointed Miliband’s close ally Miatta Fahnbulleh to the energy brief. Miliband cited the climate crisis as one of his key priorities at the Foreign Office, suggesting he will examine a recent decision to gut climate aid. Developing a closer relationship with the European Union will also be a huge priority, his allies say, after securing Foreign Office oversight of the brief alongside the Cabinet Office for the first time since Brexit. Former Middle East minister Hamish Falconer will lead negotiations with the bloc. “It’s absolutely at the core of our future in my view, to build a deeper strategic alliance with the European Union rooted in trade, interest and values,” Miliband said.That is seen as crucial to restoring the Foreign Office’s influence in government after years in which officials felt its remit had been steadily eroded, with Jonathan Powell in Number 10 leading on policy towards Ukraine, the Middle East and China. Morale in the department has been damaged, too, by plans to cut a quarter of the workforce. That includes much of the development brief, as well as key areas like Iran. Miliband’s first foreign trip will be to the Philippines for the ASEAN Foreign Ministerial Meeting on Wednesday, where he will have a series of bilateral meetings with the EU, Ukraine, China, India, Canada, Australia and Japan, as well as partners in Southeast Asia. He will particularly push for collective work on tackling the climate crisis, strengthening partnerships for international development and reforming international institutions, his office said. His first call was to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.Miliband is the 10th Foreign Secretary since Hague held the role in 2014 — a reflection of the instability in British politics — and one that means foreign diplomats are wearily having to regularly rebuild new relationships.“A lot of the rest of the world just isn’t taking this seriously anymore,” said Hague. “He’s a very clever and capable guy but this job is rotating far too quickly.” —With assistance from Jacob Reid and Andrew Atkinson.Notice for the Postmedia NetworkThis website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.