07/09/2026
Andy Burnham snubs Scottish voters AGAIN in Highland break with the royals
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ANDY Burnham has been accused of snubbing Scottish voters once again after it emerged he had spent the weekend with the royals in Balmoral – avoiding members of the public and the media.
The Prime Minister and his wife, Marie-France van Heel, met with the King and Queen in Balmoral on Saturday, and were seen attending a church service with the royals on Sunday.
The National now understands that Burnham does not intend to make any further trips during his visit to Scotland in his capacity as Prime Minister.
Further, the media will not be given any opportunity to question Burnham during his time north of the Border.
It comes after Burnham avoided Scotland on his so-called "listening tour" of Britain, despite pledging to visit all of the UK's nations.
He visited Ilkeston in Derbyshire, Sheffield in South Yorkshire, Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, Port Talbot in Wales, and Belfast in Northern Ireland – meaning Scotland was the only one of four UK nations not to be included.
Since becoming Prime Minister, Burnham has visited Scotland, to attend the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on July 23 – before the "listening tour" took place.
The King and Queen were also in attendance at the opening ceremony, which means that Burnham has now met with the King in Scotland more times than he has spoken with any of the Scottish public.
During that same visit to Scotland, Burnham met with First Minister John Swinney, where he ruled out a second Scottish independence referendum.
Swinney previously said he was "surprised" Burnham had not visited Scotland on his UK listening tour.
The SNP have branded Burnham the "first Prime Minister of England" over the latest snubbing, warning that he cannot "hide forever".
SNP MSP Clare Haughey told The National: “Energy bills are going up again in energy rich Scotland and Andy Burnham’s still yet to speak to an actual Scottish voter – he truly is the first Prime Minister of England.
“All we’ve had so far is a series of announcements from Andy Burnham that all concern England as all Scotland got was a warning that our democratic right to decide our own future was 'off limits'.
“Andy Burnham can't hide forever and soon he will be faced with the cold, hard, reality of broken Brexit Britain and hardworking Scots will be hammered once again – it’s that simple truth that is exactly why we need a fresh start with independence.”
Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday during Prime Minister's Questions, Burnham pledged to visit Aberdeen "soon" to meet with groups over the North Sea transition.
He was initially touted to visit Aberdeen during his "listening tour", but this never materialised.
No date has been confirmed as to when Burnham will next visit Scotland.
