Trump Brands Britain “Poverty Stricken” as Burnham Courts the President
Mr Burnham’s first day was overshadowed by Donald Trump, who called Britain a “Poverty Stricken Disaster” while praising reports the new Prime Minister could ease curbs on North Sea drilling. In their first phone call, Mr Burnham invited Mr Trump to visit Manchester and stressed his commitment to defence and to Strait of Hormuz shipping security. Downing Street says he will honour Labour’s manifesto on oil and gas, pursuing “a change of emphasis” rather than new licences.
Mr Trump’s intervention centres on the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields, where licences already exist, giving Mr Burnham room to signal support without formally breaching the no-new-licences pledge — a stance that would rebuff his own Foreign Secretary, Mr Miliband, a fierce critic of new drilling. Mr Trump said new drilling would take the United Kingdom “from a Poverty Stricken Disaster to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the World”. The episode tests how Mr Burnham manages a volatile ally while holding a fragile climate coalition together. Watch for any formal North Sea decision and whether the Manchester invitation firms into a state visit.