Burnham-Trump latest: PM warned tax rises ‘virtually inevitable’ ahead of first meeting with US president

Andy Burnham is hoping to find “common ground” with Donald Trump at their first face-to-face meeting on Tuesday in New York.

The prime minister told reporters: "We've found a connection. So, I will go with where I feel it's right, to meet him where he is at, and search for that common ground, which I'm sure we'll find.”

Mr Burnham also insisted he personally trusts Donald Trump, ahead of their first meeting, telling reporters: “When you come into this job, you realise how deep this relationship is.

“We trust our allies. Of course, we do.”

He and the US president will hold talks on Tuesday in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly meeting, which will see discussions on wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the rapid development of AI.

The two leaders have held phone calls but this will be their first in-person meeting.

He is also set to tell the UN that the UK is not “on the slide” and attempt to draw a line under 10 years of post-Brexit turbulence as he meets world leaders.

It comes as Mr Burnham confirmed Britain will provide military support to Saudi Arabia to counter attacks by Iran-backed Houthis and protect energy supplies.

Burnham meets Sanchez for a stroll in Central Park before the day kicks off

Andy Burnham met Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez for a morning stroll in Central Park before a private meeting.

The two leaders walked past a bust of Irish poet Thomas Moore before stopping to admire the view of skyscrapers towering over the Central Park Pond.

Early morning joggers and dog walkers largely ignored the presence of two world leaders and a small press pack in the Manhattan park.

Nicole Wootton-Cane22 September 2026 12:50

Burnham says Britain should be 'trusted partner' to EU schemes

Prime minister Andy Burnham said he would argue for Britain to be a "trusted partner" to the European Union's "Made in Europe" ⁠scheme, saying they should not be pitted as enemies on a policy that has the potential to hammer the UK's car industry.

The Made in Europe policy aims to curb reliance on Chinese components by prioritising European-made goods – a worry for the British auto industry which feeds parts into EU supply chains and sells cars across the bloc.

Travelling to New York for his ⁠first United Nations General Assembly as prime minister, Mr Burnham told ​reporters ⁠he believed there was support for Britain to have access to the scheme.

"Europe's argument is not with us. We both suffer the same effects as other countries, particularly steel," he said .

Britain has argued that the "Made in Europe" ‌plan could impact supply chains and create unnecessary trade barriers between it and some member countries, with Mr Burnham urging the two sides to avoid further "collateral damage."

Nicole Wootton-Cane22 September 2026 12:41

RAF’s Saudi mission could help keep fuel prices down, says defence minister

British military aid to Saudi Arabia will limit the risk of further fuel price increases, a defence minister has suggested.

Luke Pollard said the deployment of an RAF refuelling aircraft to the country was aimed at preventing “further escalation” in the Red Sea, where Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen threaten another key route for oil exports.

The war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has already seen fuel prices spike.

Closure of the Bab al-Mandab strait, the only southern approach to the Suez Canal, would add further pressure on global oil supplies.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Pollard said the Government had taken some action to ease the cost of living, but added that “ultimately” it was peace in the Middle East and Ukraine that would cut fuel prices.

He said: “We’re working with our friends to try and deliver that de-escalation, and part of the reason why we deployed the RAF Voyager to Saudi Arabia, for instance, is to ensure there’s not further escalation in the Red Sea, which could further risk our fuel prices.”

The deployment, announced by Andy Burnham on his way to the UN General Assembly in New York, will see the Voyager aircraft provide air-to-air refuelling for Saudi jets.

Holly Evans22 September 2026 12:23

Burnham to position UK as an 'honest broker' over AI issues

Andy Burnham, who is being accompanied on his transatlantic trip by wife Marie-France van Heel, will also use his first UN General Assembly speech to focus on AI’s risks and opportunities.

The development of frontier models is being dominated by firms in the US and China, with concerns raised by experts that the breakneck pace of progress is coming at the expense of safety.

Mr Burnham is seeking to position the UK as an “honest broker” in bringing countries together to address the issue, comparing his role to that played by Gordon Brown in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

He said recent warnings from AI experts about the risks it could pose to humanity “made me pause” but “I had already decided, though, to make a step change on AI when I came into the role”.

“I will be focusing on AI as a force for good, because it can be and it’s really important to keep that,” he said.

Holly Evans22 September 2026 12:05

Opinion: Our people-pleasing PM faces his ultimate challenge in Donald Trump

The least of Andy Burnham’s worries as he prepares for the UN General Assembly in New York, and his first meeting with Donald Trump, is what he has said about the US president in the past.

Before he became prime minister, Mr Burnham was certainly critical of the president, taking the view in 2021 for example that “any politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now”.

Yet it is a curious feature of Mr Trump’s generally vengeful personality that he doesn’t allow things said in the past to get in the way of business. After all, and despite some mildly disobliging remarks made in the past, Sir Keir Starmer managed to forge a surprisingly warm relationship with his counterpart, at least in the earlier phase of his premiership. Until the Iran war and disagreements about “civilisational erasure” in Europe soured the bromance, Sir Keir, ably assisted by Buckingham Palace, enjoyed a brief career as world champion “Trump whisperer”. That ended with the president dismissing Sir Keir as “no Winston Churchill”.

Read our full editorial here:

Our people-pleasing PM faces his ultimate challenge in Donald Trump

Editorial: Andy Burnham came to power saying all the right things – now, when he and the US president meet for the first time at the United Nations in New York, he would do well to show due deference and exploit the one area where they both agree: keeping Britain and America ahead in artificial intelligence

Holly Evans22 September 2026 11:40

What can we expect from today?

It is currently just after 6am in New York, with Andy Burnham set for a busy day ahead meeting world leaders at the United Nations.

At around 12.20pm UK time, he will meet with Josh Turner, a Manchester-born entrepreneur, before attending a roundtable with business and investment leaders.

At 4.45pm, he is due to hold a meeting with Donald Trump before both of them make opening statements, followed by bilateral meetings with Ursula von der Leyen, Volodymyr Zelensky and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

At 9:45pm, he is set to attend a Middle East event with Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Mark Carney, before addressing the UN General Assembly at 12:30am.

We’ll be bringing you all the latest.

Holly Evans22 September 2026 11:21

Government borrowing hits second-highest August on record in setback for Healey

UK Government borrowing rose in August to the second-highest level for the month on record, coming in above forecasts and piling pressure on Chancellor John Healey ahead of his first autumn Budget, figures show.

Public sector net borrowing rose to £18.3 billion in August, which was £3.5 billion more than what official Government forecasters had been expecting, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The figure was £2.9 billion, or 19 per cent, more than the same month last year and marked the second-highest August borrowing on record, behind that of 2020.

Public sector net borrowing shows the difference between what the Government spends on the public sector and what it makes from taxes and other income.

The ONS said the jump was driven by spending increasing more than the Government was generating from taxes and other receipts.

This partly reflected inflation-related costs and spending on the state pension and other benefits.

Rising debt interest costs are set to create challenges for Mr Healey whose fiscal headroom remains stretched, a month away from him delivering his first autumn Budget statement in October.

Holly Evans22 September 2026 11:02

Burnham to find 'common ground' with Donald Trump

Andy Burnham has said he is expecting to find “common ground” with Donald Trump during their first in-person meeting.

Since entering No10, the prime minister and the US president have spoken twice on the phone.

He told reporters: "We've found a connection. So, I will go with where I feel it's right, to meet him where he is at, and search for that common ground, which I'm sure we'll find.

He added: "I'm looking forward to it."

Holly Evans22 September 2026 10:27

UK borders are secure, minister says after migrant boat reaches coast undetected

The UK’s borders are secure, a minister has insisted after a migrant boat reached the Kent coast without being intercepted.

Five people were detained and passed to Border Security Command after the dinghy made it to shore at Folkestone on Monday – the first undetected landing for a year.

Defence minister Luke Pollard dismissed suggestions the Government had lost control of the border.

“Our borders are secure, but we want to make them stronger,” he told LBC Radio on Tuesday.

Asked how the boat slipped through, Mr Pollard said a Home Office investigation was under way to determine what had happened, without going into detail.

He also said: “We’re aware that the boat that got through, everyone has been detained on it.”

The thousands of migrants crossing the Channel are usually brought to shore by Border Security Command or RNLI boats.

No small boat arrivals to the UK coast without an escort have been officially recorded since 6 September 2025.

Holly Evans22 September 2026 10:09

Support for Reform UK falls to lowest level since 2024, poll shows

A recent poll has shown support for Reform UK has fallen to its lowest level since the 2024 general election.

The YouGov poll for Sky News and The Times has put the party in joint second place with the Conservatives, suggesting Kemi Badenoch’s popularity is improving while Nigel Farage’s appeal is waning.

The voting intention tracker places Labour at 23 per cent, with Reform UK and the Tories at 21 per cent each.