Andy Burnham's Emotional Tribute to His Late Father Sparks Conversations
Updated 14:22 14 Sep 2026 GMT+1Published 13:42 14 Sep 2026 GMT+1
The Labour party leader has cancelled his engagements for both today and tomorrow in wake of the sad news
Andy Burnham's dad Roy has sadly died at the 86 after suffering from Alzheimer's.
Downing Street announced that the Prime Minister has cancelled his engagements for both today (14 September) and tomorrow following his father's passing.
Since taking office, the Labour party leader has regularly discussed Roy's health battles - which meant that he was unaware his son had become PM - and how they inspired him to transform the 'broken social care system'.
Burnham was set to host business leaders in No 10 on Monday afternoon, but these plans have since been postponed due to the sad news.
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He has candidly discussed his father's ailing health since becoming a major figure on the political scene, including how Roy was previously diagnosed with prostate cancer and Alzheimer's.
Burnham said his family suspect that the cancer treatment which the former Post Office engineer underwent might have 'brought on the dementia' at a faster rate.
Burnham seen with his mother Eileen and late dad Roy (Peter Byrne/PA Wire)
"With all my background in health, I didn’t understand enough the relationship between those two things," Burnham previously told the How to Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast.
"It was shortly after he’d had his prostate cancer treatment, I think it would’ve been 2022 sort of time, I remember sitting with him, in his bungalow, and he just kept asking me about could I see something in the trees and he was saying he could see shapes in the trees and I was like, 'No, it’s nothing, dad it’s fine'.
"But I remember coming away that day thinking something has changed, and you never forget that."
The Alzheimer's Association explains that this disease is a type of dementia that impacts a person's memory, thinking and behaviour. Symptoms eventually grow severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.
It adds: "On average, a person with Alzheimer's lives four to eight years after diagnosis but can live as long as 20 years, depending on other factors."
Before he took over Downing Street in July, the politician revealed that his dad was unaware that he would be taking office due to his Alzheimer’s.
"That’s a sadness because he would be [proud]," he previously told The Telegraph. “The way I look at it, it’s his achievement as well. A whole family achievement although he doesn’t know it.”
The Prime Minister seen embracing his mother after succeeding Sir Keir Starmer(Carl Court/Getty Images)
Describing the close bond he shared with Roy, Burnham also reflected on how he would visit his dad in the care home he resided at along with his two brothers and mum.
"All five of us together, which was a nice thing," he added.
His father's battle with Alzheimer's has fuelled Burnham's campaign to reform the adult social care system.
He vowed to help 'my dad and the millions like him' by transforming policy, while suggesting that his predecessors shied away from doing as they feared it would be 'a political risk'.
In an impassioned speech in July, the PM heaped praised on the 'hundreds of people who've cared' for Roy and how he believes they 'should be the best paid people in society, not the worst'.
"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.
"It comes out because of the way they draw in the conversation and that is an amazing talent to have.
"But also moving from a wheelchair to an armchair, or from there to a bed without distress or discomfort, it is incredibly demanding and skilful what they do and that needs to be recognised."
Featured Image Credit: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Topics: UK News, Politics
