A UK government press release dated 27 August 2026 said Prime Minister Andy Burnham had arrived in Northern Ireland as part of his summer tour of the United Kingdom. On that day he was due in Belfast for his first visit since taking office, where he was expected to hear from young people about bills, jobs and their prospects, including teenagers and staff in mentoring schemes in the city’s creative music scene.

The release said Burnham was scheduled to meet First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly that afternoon, and then all five main parties, with what it described as an offer to solve problems rather than score points. It said he was expected to say he wanted genuine partnership so families had more hope and room to breathe from cost-of-living pressures.

According to the release, Burnham had announced he would convene the First Ministers of Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland’s First and deputy First Ministers in October to discuss growth, and it said Northern Ireland would help set the growth agenda at the National Economic Council in October.