Andy Burnham is poised to become the first British prime minister in nearly 50 years to withhold exclusive interviews and written contributions from the Sun newspaper, signaling a significant shift in the historically influential relationship between the tabloid and government.
Although Downing Street has not formally announced a suspension of cooperation, multiple insiders close to Burnham have indicated that the prime minister intends to deny the Sun special access or preferential treatment. This stance reportedly has sparked unease within News UK, the media conglomerate owned by Rupert Murdoch that holds the Sun’s publishing rights, where a longstanding expectation of close government ties persists.
The evolving dynamic appears linked to Burnham’s enduring personal and political grievances toward the newspaper, stemming largely from its controversial 1989 coverage of the Hillsborough disaster. The Sun’s headline falsely blamed Liverpool football fans for the deaths of 97 people in the stadium crush—a narrative now widely discredited as part of a police cover-up. Although the paper has issued apologies since, the Manchester-born Prime Minister, who maintains strong ties to Merseyside, has consistently expressed distrust of the publication. The city of Liverpool continues to boycott the Sun over its handling of the tragedy.
Burnham’s opposition to the Sun is also informed by broader concerns about undue influence and vested interests in politics. His 2009 speech at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium commemorating Hillsborough victims—disrupted by chants demanding justice—marked a pivotal moment in his estrangement from Westminster’s political establishment. As a member of Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet, Burnham criticized Labour officials for failing to challenge the tabloid’s narrative around the disaster.
An early indication of the new government’s approach was the departure of David Dinsmore, a former Sun editor who had taken a senior Whitehall communications role, scheduled by the end of the month. The appointment had previously drawn criticism from figures close to Burnham, including Liverpool’s metro mayor Steve Rotheram.
Despite the apparent chill in relations, the Sun remains integrated into the government’s media operations, continuing to attend lobby briefings and publishing interviews with cabinet ministers. The Times, another News UK publication, has conducted multiple recent interviews with Burnham. Yet, should the current reticence toward the Sun harden, Burnham would be the first prime minister since Jim Callaghan—whose fraught relationship with the tabloid in the late 1970s is remembered as a factor in his political decline—to entirely avoid engagement with the newspaper.
The Sun’s influence, which once significantly impacted electoral outcomes, has waned considerably since its peak in the 1980s when it claimed a daily circulation of around four million. The paper later backed the Conservative party through several election cycles, before shifting allegiances amid fluctuating Labour leadership dynamics. Notable leaders such as Tony Blair managed to secure the newspaper’s endorsement, while successive opposition figures, including Jeremy Corbyn, outright rejected contact, often incurring the paper’s hostility.
Some political commentators view Burnham’s position as reflecting the changing media landscape, where the Sun’s relevance has diminished amid digital disruption and financial losses. Former Labour press secretary Alastair Campbell suggested Burnham’s stance is informed both by historical context and practical political calculation, noting that the tabloid “is not what it was” and that distancing from it now aligns with the prime minister’s values and constituency concerns.
As Burnham settles into office, the trajectory of his relationship with the Sun and broader media outlets will be watched closely as an indicator of how the new government intends to navigate the intricate ties between politics and the press.