Burnham and Trump are unlikely bedfellows – but the PM cannot afford for their first meeting to go badly

Keir Starmer has told friends that when Donald Trump infamously dropped the text of their historic UK-US trade agreement on the ground, after years of negotiations, the then prime minister’s first thought was “for f***’s sake”.

In front of a gaggle of photographers and television cameras, he followed his instinct and bent down to pick up pages of the precious deal, on which thousands of British jobs depended.

But the moment fed a wider criticism of Sir Keir – that he appeared too deferential to the unpredictable president.

Their relationship had started on a good footing when the prime minister delighted President Trump in the Oval Office with an invitation to become the first US president to have a second official state visit to the UK.

But that early success soon turned sour, as the president launched trade tariffs, including against the UK, and his war on Iran, which hiked up energy prices in Britain.

Mr Trump took to verbally attacking Sir Keir, at one point declaring he was “no Churchill”. He also criticised Starmer’s policies, including Labour’s opposition to new drilling in the North Sea.

All of which will be in Andy Burnham’s mind as he meets Donald Trump face to face for the first time on Tuesday.

Some Labour grandees are confident Mr Burnham has what it takes to come off best in what is always a duel with President Trump.

This summer, in an interview with The Independent, former Labour leader Neil Kinnock predicted that a ‘cool’ Mr Burnham wouldn't let Trump get under his skin.

Lord Kinnock, who met Ronald Reagan in the White House in 1984, joked that “Andy’s got to deal with Trump like hedgehogs make love – carefully….That’s just basic, but nobody’s got to tell him that. That’s what he’ll do.”

He added: “The good thing about Andy, he is a very cool guy. He doesn’t burst into flames.

“I’d have had difficulty with Trump because my irritation level is very, very low.

“And Andy’s isn’t, which is a real plus. So he’ll keep his temper, and if he doesn’t actually bite his tongue, he’ll discipline it, so it’ll be OK.”

Mr Burnham will be under pressure to prove he is his own man against the unpredictable president.

His task will be to project an image of a strong, independent nation, unwilling to be bossed around by Mr Trump - at the same time as not poking the bear.

But he has also said he wants to find “common ground” with other politicians.

It is a difficult tightrope to walk. But, unlike Sir Keir, who was critised as a technocrat, Mr Burnham is a political animal.

To that end, to smooth the first meeting between the two men, he is arriving in New York with a story about US/ UK co-operation on a torpedo and a new AI defence partnership.

Will their relationship be positive by the end of the meeting? Mr Burnham will hope so.