Donald Trump has a message for ‘extremely liberal’ Andy Burnham

Donald Trump has issued his first words of advice to former Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who is the most likely candidate to take over from Keir Starmer as Prime Minister of the UK.

For those who haven’t been keeping up with the political chaos that’s been going on, Starmer stepped down from the position on Monday (22 June), following mounting pressure from the Labour Party and the public.

While Labour's ruling body has yet to formally confirm the timetable, there will promptly be a contest to replace him, with Burnham, 56, looking likely to be the winner.

The politician became Makerfield's MP recently, following a major by-election win, gaining him a seat in Parliament and a launchpad to challenge Starmer for the leadership.

Now, the US President, 80, has weighed in, issuing his first comments about the frontrunner during a meeting with the Secretary General of NATO on Wednesday (24 June).

Donald Trump has made it clear he's in no rush to meet Andy Burnham (BASTIEN OHIER/Getty Images)

When asked what he thought of Burnham, he responded with: “‘I don’t know, I think I see that he was, I guess, the mayor of a town.”

He added, “I hear he’s extremely liberal, extremely, so that means he probably won’t open up the North Sea.”

Later, when quizzed on whether he would want the honour of being the first world leader for the new Prime Minister to visit globally, Trump icily replied with: “No, but I think we’re probably of a different persuasion.”

And it looks like Burnham has a similar outlook, as he’s not shied away from sharing his opinions on Trump and US politics.

As reported by Metro, while on the Makerfield campaign trail, Burnham said: “Politics is getting more polarised. And the path we’re on, if we are not careful, is a path towards the politics of the United States of America.

“A polarised, poisonous politics where people in communities don’t work together anymore.”

During the January 2021 Capitol riots, he wrote on X: “Any UK politician who gave Trump the time of day should be ashamed right now.”

Trump said the former Manchester mayor 'probably won't open up the North Sea' for oil exploration (Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images)

As for Burnham’s policies and plans for Britain, he wants to expand public ownership and has indicated he would start with the nationalisation of Thames Water as part of a longer-term plan to bring more essential services under public control.

In his victory speech in Makerfield, he said: "We do need to bring down water bills, energy bills, rail fares, just as we brought down bus fares in Greater Manchester, to make life more affordable for people.”

One of his biggest successes in Manchester was the Bee Network, which is a publicly regulated transport system run by private operators, which means bus fares are capped at £2.

When launching his campaign, the former mayor also said he hoped to achieve ‘the biggest programme of council house building since the Second World War,’ as well as suggesting a temporary rent freeze and changes to the way energy bills are funded.