Declassified UK: Prime ministers change. The machinery of war rolls on.

Posted: 2nd August 2026

While attention has focused on Andy Burnham’s domestic agenda, his foreign and defence priorities are already coming into focus.

The past week offers several clues.

Burnham pledged “unwavering support” to Ukraine after hosting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his first bilateral meeting with a foreign leader earlier this week.

It featured plenty of reassurances: “We are with Ukraine 100%, I am personally with you 100%, and I will honour every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full.”

The leaders met at a naval base before hearing first-hand how British military training was helping sustain Ukraine’s operations on the front line.

“Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve, and we will not back down”, Burnham said in a statement.

The point is — The UK under Keir Starmer and now Burnham is happy to arm Ukraine in the war with Russia to the benefit of Britain’s arms industry; but where are its serious calls for a negotiated peace?

Burnham also reached out to some of the Gulf’s most repressive governments. In calls with the leaders of Qatar and Kuwait, he pressed for deeper military cooperation.

He delivered the same message to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reaffirming Britain’s commitment to closer defence ties.

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Closer to home, a new appointment to Burnham’s top team reinforces the pattern. 

The director of the British Foreign Policy Group (BPFG), Evie Aspinall, is joining Number 10 as a special adviser.

BPFG describes itself as a think tank dedicated to strengthening the UK’s global role.

Aspinall has consistently made the case for higher defence spending. In an April analysis, her organisation argued that Britain urgently needs to increase military spending and examined how political leaders can overcome public reluctance to accept the necessary trade-offs.

If there are new faces of this policy trajectory, there are old ones too.

Jonathan Powell was at Burnham’s side this week as the Prime Minister hosted Volodymyr Zelenskyy, appearing to have retained his role as national security adviser.

Powell served as Tony Blair’s chief of staff and was one of the most senior figures in government as Britain illegally invaded Iraq.

Few of these political appointments are likely to receive meaningful critical scrutiny, despite their potentially enormous consequences.

Hamza Yusuf

Regular Contributor
Declassified UK