This episode of Coffee House Shots looks at what Andy Burnham's first overseas trip, to Ukraine, might signal about his foreign policy as prime minister. James Heale and Sofia Gaston discuss the personnel around him, particularly national security adviser Jonathan Powell and new foreign secretary Ed Miliband, and speculate on the likely tone of the government's approach - a mix of values and hard interests reminiscent of the Gordon Brown era. They also cover the race to become the Foreign Office's permanent secretary, contrasting candidates Karen Pierce and Lindy Cameron, and touch on low morale inside the department after cuts linked to a 2030 reform programme.
The conversation moves on to the political risk of championing international aid amid domestic pressure, referencing Anneliese Dodds' resignation over aid cuts, and to tensions between Europe and China over trade and solar panel production. Sofia Gaston closes with a more optimistic take, suggesting that pairing Burnham's instincts with a Treasury and defence team serious about rearmament could give substance to the government's foreign policy, even if domestic framing dominates.
Spending
Key points from the discussion
The points they raised, and the official data behind them.
The hosts noted that Keir Starmer made his first foreign trip as prime minister four days after taking office.
~01:10The hosts said it took Andy Burnham four weeks to make his first foreign trip as prime minister, travelling to Ukraine.
~01:10James Heale mentioned that Anneliese Dodds, a Labour minister, resigned last year over cuts to the international aid budget.
~08:36Context
Anneliese Dodds served as a Labour minister for international development. She resigned from the government in February 2025 in protest at the decision to cut the UK's overseas aid budget in order to fund an increase in defence spending.