US President Donald Trump and new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham held their first phone call, with Trump wishing the incoming Labour leader "good luck and Godspeed" and acknowledging he faces "a big job ahead". The call marks the start of a potentially delicate relationship between the two leaders, given Burnham's past criticism of Trump and his suggestion he would ban the president from Manchester, raising questions about how the "special relationship" will function under the new government.

Despite that history, Burnham used the call to invite Trump to visit Manchester, an invitation described as awkward given his earlier "deeply troubling" remarks about the US president. The exchange comes as Burnham reshapes his top team, including moving Ed Miliband into the role of Foreign Secretary, a striking choice given Miliband has previously called Trump a "racist and misogynist" and opposed strikes against Syria, while Angela Rayner also returns to Cabinet ten months after resigning over a tax scandal.