Ukraine is Andy Burnham’s first test to prove himself on the world stage, writes Natasha Clark
LBC's Political Editor is travelling to Ukraine with Andy Burnham on his first foreign trip since becoming Prime Minister
As critics write Sir Keir Starmer’s contribution to British history books over the coming months, he will be remembered as a PM who lacked a coherent political vision, struggled to keep popularity domestically and with his own party.
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Where he led the way and grew comfortable during his two years as Prime Minister was on the world stage - whether that was dealing with a petulant Donald Trump or making more cool-headed decisions on military action.
With his background as an international lawyer, close relationships with friends and colleagues in Brussels, and his time as Director of Public Prosecutions, he warmed quickly to the international stage, as many Labour leaders do.
So much so that Sir Keir made his attempts to fund defence one of his final acts in office, and held his final press conference on an airbase to defend his ill-fated defence investment plan - despite it being billions of pounds short of what defence chiefs wanted.
Today Andy Burnham will begin in earnest his journey onto the world stage, which all Prime Ministers, whether they like it or not, must embark upon.
He’s spent the last month focused nearly entirely on domestic priorities; the cost of living and giving people ‘breathing space’ has been his top priority.
He’s been to bus depots, landed train announcements, cut VAT on energy bills and announced moves to cut business rates for pubs. The devolution revolution has begun, the ribbon has been cut on No10 North, and the rewiring of the state has started.
Today he visits Ukraine, four and a half years into the conflict, and becomes the latest friend and ally to the long-serving President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The announcement that the UK will start dishing out more blueprints for our technology - including missiles - will mark a new phase for the war in Eastern Europe alongside a steady stream of weapons, training and cash.
Continuity will be key to uphold the support for Ukraine for as long as it takes - a promise that Sir Keir made to Zelenskyy would be upheld under his successor.
Burnham has largely spent his entire political career looking internally, meaning a big drive will have been made to ensure he’s up to speed with the latest thinking and briefings from around the world.
And despite the huge in-tray he’s inherited, defence and security hasn’t been higher up the world agenda for many years.
Burnham will have been given the same intelligence as Sir Keir and other NATO colleagues that conflict may come by 2030.
So much so that the government are planning to hold country-wide war games and exercises to help prepare the nation for war.
I expect that Burnham will be able to link his plans for defence firmly in the domestic sphere in a way that Starmer tried to do but never was able to fully articulate.
British defence jobs mean leading on the world stage, supporting Ukraine, getting more people into work, sorting the NEETs crisis, boosting the domestic economy, easing the cost of living burden, all in one, if done right, and it’s a big if.
British defence firms are already leading the way in drone technology, equipment, and modern warfare.
Reindustrialising the country can mean more than just reopening coal mines and steel works. It can mean backing more jobs for British workers, and levelling with the country that it means more money from Whitehall pots to pay for it.
It means signing more British-based contracts, even if they’re at a higher cost, to reduce our own dependency on other nations and back our own.
The choice of former defence secretary John Healey, who resigned over lack of funding for defence, means Burnham’s already all but committed to billions of pounds of extra money.
Whether that will come from more departmental savings or an expansion of the definition of the fiscal borrowing rules remains to be seen.
So far the Burnham blitz of new domestic policies has landed well.
But convincing the British public to take the threats from abroad more seriously is going to be far more difficult - just 20 per cent see defence spending as the most important priority for the nation.
It’s going to require some hard truths for a man who’s only been in office a matter of weeks, and is desperate to inject hope and optimism into Britain, not doom, gloom and scary war stories.
Downing Street promises he will meet the UK’s pledge of spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on defence by 2035 - but there’s no plan yet for how to get there.
He may feel comfortably doing a better job than Sir Keir on his narrative, more personality-driven social media style, and blitz of domestic announcements, but Burnham’s journey filling Starmer’s boots on the world stage will be less comfortable territory in the months ahead.
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Natasha Clark is LBC's Political Editor.
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