The first substantive diplomatic engagement between Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the President of the United States took place on Tuesday evening in a forty-minute telephone call that both governments characterised as warm, frank and constructive. The conversation, which covered trade, defence, the situation in the Middle East and the upcoming G7 summit, marked Burnham’s formal introduction to the most consequential bilateral relationship in British foreign policy.
Speaking to reporters outside Downing Street the following morning, Burnham described the exchange as “good” and “businesslike,” adding that he had found the President “direct, engaged and genuinely interested in hearing the British perspective.” The Prime Minister confirmed that the two leaders had agreed to meet in person at the G7 summit in Canada later in the summer, and that a formal state visit would be arranged “in due course.”
The tone of Burnham’s remarks was notably measured, reflecting a deliberate strategy to establish a working relationship without the effusive personal diplomacy that characterised some of his predecessors’ dealings with Washington. “Britain and America are allies, friends and partners,” Burnham said. “That doesn’t mean we agree on everything. It means we talk honestly when we don’t, and we work together when we do. I made clear to the President that I will always call out positions I disagree with, just as I expect him to do with me. That’s what a mature relationship looks like.”
The phrase “call out” attracted immediate attention in the press gallery, and Burnham was pressed on whether it implied a more adversarial stance than the traditional special relationship warranted. The Prime Minister pushed back gently. “Calling out is not the same as falling out,” he said. “You can disagree with a friend and still stand shoulder to shoulder with them when it matters. I think the British public understands that distinction perfectly well.”
The substance of the call, as relayed by Downing Street, covered several areas of mutual interest. On trade, the two leaders acknowledged the progress made in reducing non-tariff barriers under the existing framework and agreed to task their respective trade ministers with exploring further liberalisation in services, digital commerce and agricultural products. On defence, Burnham reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to meeting and exceeding the NATO target of 2 per cent of GDP on defence spending, and the two leaders discussed the ongoing modernisation of the British armed forces.
