Burnham to Meet Trump for First Time at UN as Ukraine, Middle East Top Agenda

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to hold his first meeting with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, with Ukraine and the mounting costs of conflict in the Middle East dominating the agenda.

Burnham, who took office in July, is scheduled to address the annual gathering of world leaders on Tuesday, where he is expected to set out his vision of Britain's role in a fragmenting global order.

The meeting marks a striking turn for Burnham, who as mayor of Greater Manchester said in 2017 that Trump would not be welcome in the city, and two years later said he would refuse to meet the president if he visited. Since becoming prime minister, Burnham has said he seeks "common ground" with other politicians.

The two leaders have spoken twice since Burnham replaced Keir Starmer at the head of the centre-left governing party. Trump has described Burnham as "a nice guy," though he has recently unsettled UK officials by voicing support for Irish unification and raising questions about the future of the Falkland Islands, claimed by both Britain and Argentina.

Ukraine is expected to be a central focus. Burnham's only foreign trip since taking office was to Kyiv, and he has said he will press Trump to supply interceptor missiles to strengthen Ukraine's air defences before another winter of war.

London also wants to discuss restoring free movement of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, largely blocked since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran in February. The closure has driven oil prices sharply higher, complicating Burnham's efforts to revive Britain's sluggish economy and ease cost-of-living pressures.

Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said Burnham would take a "pragmatic" approach. "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."

The encounter follows a turbulent period in UK-US relations. Starmer courted Trump early on, presenting him with an invitation from King Charles III for an unprecedented second state visit during a February 2025 Oval Office meeting. British officials felt that approach paid off when the UK secured a trade deal with Washington. But ties cooled after Starmer declined to join the Iran war, and Trump has repeatedly criticised UK immigration and green-energy policies, urging greater North Sea oil drilling.

Burnham is expected to announce soon whether to approve new oil and gas fields off Scotland. UK officials are also bracing for US criticism of Britain's ban on trade with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and its efforts to regulate large American technology firms.

Trump's earlier threats to seize Greenland alarmed the UK and other European allies, and Burnham was among 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 has other high-profile international meetings this week, including one at the White House with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Burnham's trip comes as middle powers, most vocally Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, seek closer alliances in response to Trump's "America first" foreign policy. Burnham's government wants Britain to be bolder on the world stage and to rebuild some ties with Europe severed when the UK left the European Union in 2020.

Ed Davey, leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats, urged Burnham to follow the example of European and Canadian leaders. "I want him to stand up to Trump. It's really clear that's the only language the president respects," Davey said.