His 30-year political career has been occupied almost entirely with domestic affairs, and he has seemed content with that. Andy Burnham was a foreign-policy novice when he became Britain’s prime minister in July.
On being elected the MP for Makerfield in Greater Manchester, he promised to apply a “Makerfield test” to every decision he makes.
Rishi Sunak wanted to undo the reputational catastrophe caused by the premiership of Liz Truss. Sir Keir Starmer even declared: “Britain is back on the world stage. Not every member of the G20 will be welcome in Manchester. Sanctions on the Kremlin will keep him away, with Russia represented by more junior officials. The prime minister promises to maintain military and financial backing to Ukraine for as long as the country’s war with Russia continues, and is open to committing British troops to a future peacekeeping force if a deal to end the conflict is agreed.
On coming to office, the prime minister’s recent predecessors all said something similar. Boris Johnson boasted of “global Britain”. Asked whether Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, will be invited, Mr Burnham answers flatly: “No”.
Flying to Antigua for the Commonwealth heads of government meeting, known as CHOGM, may not seem an obvious way of delighting his constituents. But the prime minister shows an increased awareness that foreign and domestic policy often come to the same thing. He is taking his Makerfield test global. Speaking to The Economist during his Antigua trip, the prime minister seeks to dispel the impression he has little interest in foreign affairs and insists that Britain can cut a distinctive figure on the world stage. It is the first chance for Mr Burnham to prove he is Britain’s prime minister rather than its mayor. There is no sign of Mr Trump backing down on one of the thorniest issues in the transatlantic relationship. The Chagos Islands host an American naval base. To the president’s chagrin, Sir Keir wanted to hand them to Mauritius. Mr Burnham suggests he is rethinking whether to give up British sovereignty over the archipelago. But like leaders before him, he has found that he cannot sideline foreign policy completely. The problems of Makerfield will not be solved without keeping an eye on Michigan, Mauritius and Mykolaiv too.
“That should be our starting point for policy always,” he says. Mr Burnham treated the summit on November 3rd and 4th as a dry run for what he calls an “autumn of diplomacy”, consisting of five closely packed international shindigs. His “new approach” to the Middle East, led by the foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, combines a spikier attitude towards Israel with security co-operation with Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia. Mr Burnham says putting sanctions on Israeli settlers was “the right thing to do”, but is open to working more closely with the country’s government if Binyamin Netanyahu is forced out following the inconclusive election in October. On the Commonwealth, the prime minister braved a domestic political backlash by promising to open a “structured dialogue” on the legacy of the British empire which could result in a formal apology for slavery (he has ruled out cash reparations). His government will “recast the arrangement”, he says, citing as a possible precedent the deal between Denmark and America which allows America greater access to Greenland for military purposes. “There are so many issues now that you can’t deal with in national borders,” says Jill Rutter of the Institute for Government, a think-tank.
