{"slug": "andy-burnham-seeks-common-ground-with-trump-at-the-un-and-pitches-the-uk-as-a-ai", "title": "Andy Burnham seeks common ground with Trump at the UN and pitches the UK as a major AI player", "summary": "British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will meet U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time and address the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, using the speech to pitch the U.K. as an \"honest broker\" on global artificial intelligence rules. Burnham, who took office in July after serving as mayor of Manchester, said he would press Trump on stepping up U.S. support for Ukraine and on ending the U.S.-Iran conflict, and announced he had authorized limited Royal Air Force refueling support for Saudi jets repelling Iran-backed Houthi attacks from Yemen.", "body_md": "**Getting your**\n\n[Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...\n**By JILL LAWLESS**\n\nNEW YORK (AP) — British Prime Minister [Andy Burnham](https://apnews.com/article/andy-burnham-profile-uk-prime-minister-d9b573820fc8eda4975d8c67d60b2a28) faces a double test on the world stage Tuesday when he meets U.S. President [Donald Trump](https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump) for the first time and addresses the [United Nations General Assembly](https://apnews.com/hub/united-nations-general-assembly).\n\nIt’s a baptism of fire for the neophyte leader, who has gone from mayor of the northwest England city of Manchester to leader of a G7 country in a matter of weeks.\n\nHe will urge Trump to [step up U.S. support for Ukraine](https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-drones-odesa-refinery-border-crossing-17bb6a0401abc3eaa7d4586150a41d7d) and hopes to avoid U.S. criticism of the U.K.’s decision to [ban trade with Israeli settlements](https://apnews.com/article/uk-west-bank-israel-settlement-sanctions-b4d7354221bfe0c48e4bfce7a3b7624b) in the West Bank.\n\nHe also will try to send a message that Britain can play a key role in solving the world’s biggest challenges, from conflict in the Middle East to the dizzying evolution of [artificial intelligence](https://apnews.com/article/openai-safety-ai-framework-089e75b95bc935af092da7b79d92706d). And he will attempt to turn the page on a decade of Brexit-driven discord with the U.K.’s European neighbors.\n\nAs he flew to New York for the annual [gathering of world leaders](https://apnews.com/article/unga-united-nations-general-assembly-shorthand-lingo-bef4654c632dfe378ce61d674166ecf4), Burnham announced he had authorized limited [military support for Saudi Arabia](https://apnews.com/article/britain-saudi-arabia-yemen-burnham-c736f6485b0e9293eee733e12adc9bcd) to repel attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. A Royal Air Force plane will refuel Saudi jets engaged in “defensive” action to shoot down Houthi missiles, he said.\n\nBurnham said he would raise with Trump ways to end the on-off war between the U.S. and Iran, which has choked off oil tankers moving through the [Strait of Hormuz](https://apnews.com/hub/strait-of-hormuz) and sent global fuel prices soaring. Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure are making the problem worse while rendering Burnham’s pledge to ease cost of living pressure for British voters even harder.\n\n“We want to see an end to the conflict as quickly as possible and we stand ready to play our part,” Burnham said.\n\nHe also will urge the U.S. president to provide air-defense missiles to Ukraine ahead of another winter of [Russian attacks](https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine).\n\nBurnham told reporters he would try to find “common ground” with Trump, who has called the center-left U.K. leader “a nice guy” but “unfortunately” a liberal.\n\nThe prime minister said he and Trump had “found a connection” in two phone calls since Burnham took office in July.\n\nBurnham plans to strike a note of “hope” in his speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday evening, despite warning the world faces “dark clouds of instability.”\n\nBurnham said he would focus on AI, arguing it’s possible to be “clear-eyed” about both the benefits and risks of the technology. He will argue the U.K. is well placed to be an “honest broker” in seeking global agreement to guide its development, because London has good relations with both the U.S. and Europe and “a strong dialogue” with China.\n\nHe also will say Britain is moving on from the tumultuous decade since the U.K.’s 2016 decision to leave the European Union. He suggested [Brexit](https://apnews.com/article/brexit-britain-anniversary-10-years-economy-b947ef83d4069d236a9a3163ef9d8633) was a point at which the country took a wrong turn, fueled by misinformation.\n\nThe policy of Burnham’s Labour Party government is to seek closer relations with the EU without reversing the decision to leave the now 27-nation bloc. Burnham hinted that he could go further at the next national election, which is due by 2029.\n\nHe told reporters that in the past decade, Britain had experienced “the turbulence that comes when outside actors seek to manipulate, distort facts, influence the British democratic process.”\n\n“Going into the next decade we need to be clear-eyed about that and stronger and more on the front foot about challenging that,” he said.\n\n“We can be hopeful about where we’re going,” Burnham added. “We can draw a line under the last decade and say, ‘This next one’s going to be different.’”", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/andy-burnham-seeks-common-ground-with-trump-at-the-un-and-pitches-the-uk-as-a-ai", "canonical_source": "https://www.ocregister.com/2026/09/22/andy-burnham-trump-meeting-un/", "published_at": "2026-09-22 13:54:25+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-22 14:25:39.489739+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["Andy Burnham", "Donald Trump", "United Nations General Assembly", "United Kingdom", "Labour Party", "European Union", "Saudi Arabia", "Ukraine"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/andy-burnham-seeks-common-ground-with-trump-at-the-un-and-pitches-the-uk-as-a-ai", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/andy-burnham-seeks-common-ground-with-trump-at-the-un-and-pitches-the-uk-as-a-ai.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/andy-burnham-seeks-common-ground-with-trump-at-the-un-and-pitches-the-uk-as-a-ai.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/andy-burnham-seeks-common-ground-with-trump-at-the-un-and-pitches-the-uk-as-a-ai.jsonld"}}