ANDY Burnham has been branded "the first Prime Minister of England" after his so-called "listening tour" of the UK completely avoided Scotland.
Earlier this month, Downing Street announced Burnham would be in “listening mode” as he embarked on a tour of the nations and regions in Britain.
So far, this has included Ilkeston in Derbyshire, Sheffield in South Yorkshire, Wolverhampton in the West Midlands and Port Talbot in Wales.
When the tour was first revealed by The Guardian in July, the paper reported that Aberdeen was being touted as a location to discuss North Sea policy.
The UK Government said Burnham would spend "much of the rest of August" travelling Britain.
But with just six days to go until Westminster recess ends on August 31, Burnham is yet to visit Scotland as part of the tour.
When approached by The National earlier this month, Downing Street refused to confirm whether Scotland was included in the itinerary.
And when approached on Tuesday afternoon, No10 did not deny that Burnham has now concluded the tour.
The SNP branded Burnham "the first Prime Minister of England", claiming his tour of the UK was simply to create "TikTok content".
SNP MSP David Linden told The National: “Energy bills are going up again in energy rich Scotland this week and it seems Andy Burnham’s cost of living listening tour has ended without a single visit here – he is the first Prime Minister of England.
“This listening exercise was all about TikTok content when the reality is he doesn’t need to listen to see the broken promise staring him in the face – bills will be £600 higher than the Labour Party promised."
Linden added: “Meanwhile, we’ve had 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'.
“When concerns about heatwaves turn to heating bills, Andy Burnham 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.”
Burnham has visited Scotland once since becoming Prime Minister.
He attended the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on July 23, using the prime ministerial jet to travel from London.
During the trip, he also met with First Minister John Swinney, during which he ruled out a second Scottish independence referendum.
Burnham told Swinney that another referendum is "off limits" because it would take the UK Government's focus "away from growing the economy and helping families with the cost of living".
