Andy Burnham emotional as he talks about his father on This Morning in July
Andy Burnham is mourning the death of his beloved dad who died less than two months after he became Prime Minister.
Article continues below
Kenneth Roy Burnham, known as Roy, had Alzheimer’s disease and had been living in a care home until his death aged 86. A major influence on his son, the Prime Minister told of his heartbreak earlier this year that his father’s illness meant he did not know that his son was on the brink of entering Downing Street.
Article continues below
In an emotional speech in July, the PM vowed to overhaul the crisis-hit social care system to help “my dad and the millions like him”. He paid tribute to the skill of the carers looking after his father. “I watch sometimes how people communicate with my dad and they’re able to catch a kind of a moment of his old character,” he said.
Article continues below
On the eve of entering No10, Mr Burnham said he wished his father knew he was becoming PM, after playing such a significant role in his success. He told The Times: “That’s a sadness because he would be [proud]. The way I look at it, it’s his achievement as well. A whole family achievement although he doesn’t know it.”
But later the PM later discovered that staff had shown Roy the moment that he entered No10. He told the How to Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast about how the care home manager pulled him aside on a visit soon after he became PM.
“She said, ‘we all knew what time you might be coming up Downing Street so we got Roy in his chair, and we got the telly right in front of him, and six of us stood around him and all said ‘Roy, look’,” he said. “And she said he turned and momentarily, they said, ‘we thought he knew’.”
An emotional Mr Burnham added: “At the time that they were doing that, I was holding my mum and we were having a chat about him so the thought of them doing that 200 miles away.”
Roy, a former telecoms engineer, met his wife Eileen, a GP’s receptionist, while working in Liverpool. The couple married and set up home in Aintree, later moving to Culcheth, a village near Warrington.
The Burnhams raised their sons Nick, Andy and John with “laughter, love and support”, the PM said in his 2024 book ‘Look North’.
“Neither my dad, Roy, nor my mum, Eileen, went to university,” he wrote. “But both could have done if they had grown up in a different time and in a different place. Their knowledge of that fact seemed to make them all the more determined that their three sons would go. But that did not make them pushy parents in any way.
“Their approach was one of quiet encouragement and confidence-building. Our family home in Culcheth was always full of music, life, laughter, love and support.”
Roy encouraged his son’s interest in politics, and both parents followed the now PM into joining the Labour Party, although Roy described himself “very much to the left” of his son. According to the Times, he said: “We were socialists from the year dot. It went through both sides of the family.
He also urged his son to apply to Cambridge University, which he thought would open doors for him.
In 2015, Roy and Eileen told The Mirror that he should be Labour leader. “He will change things, because he really cares,” says Eileen. “Roy and I were always Labour and interested in politics, but we didn’t indoctrinate him.
“We’d discuss things and I’ve seen his values develop. When I hear people talking rubbish about him I get upset. They just don’t know our Andy.”
Discussing how his gran Kitty spent her life savings on care, the-now PM said he wanted to ensure everyone was protected from sky-high costs. Roy nodded, adding: “See, once our Andy gets started he’s like a terrier with a bone.”
Close friend Steve Rotheram, the Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said: “Heartbroken for Andy and his family at the loss of his dad. Alzheimer’s is a cruel disease that slowly robs people of themselves, while taking a heavy toll on the families who love them. Sending Andy and the whole Burnham family my deepest sympathies and all my love at such a difficult time.
Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle led condolences in the Commons, saying: “I’m sure the whole House will want to send our best wishes to [the PM] and his family at this sad time.”
Communities Secretary Angela Rayner posted on X: “My thoughts are with Andy and his family at this terribly difficult – and sad time.”
Article continues below
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch also passed on her condolences. She said: “No matter how old you are, or how much you try to prepare, losing your father is a profoundly painful experience. A part of your life that has always been there is suddenly gone forever and it can feel as though a part of you won’t ever be the same again.”
And Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “My heart goes out to the Prime Minister on the loss of his dad. From our conversations he sounded like a wonderful man. My prayers are with his whole family as they mourn together.”