Andy Burnham's Scotland visit hands John Swinney an own goal

He has only been Prime Minister for a matter of days, but Andy Burnham has already handed an open goal to John Swinney.

The UK and Scottish leaders met for the first time in Glasgow to mark the opening of the Commonwealth Games.

His first visit to Scotland should have been an opportunity to set the tone, a chance to reset relations with Holyrood and show that Westminster was now listening.

Journalists got wind of the visit earlier this week, but No 10 remained tight-lipped before confirming late on Wednesday night that the Prime Minister would not be speaking to the media during his first visit north of the border.

His time as Prime Minister has been short so far, but this is already becoming something of a pattern. On Monday, after officially entering Downing Street, Burnham declined to take questions from journalists.

You might think that refusing to speak with the press isn’t a big deal. But Burnham has spent years arguing that the Westminster system had to change. Much of Burnham’s political appeal has been built on accountability and getting close to the people.

Before he travelled to Scotland, the BBC captured Andy Burnham drinking a pint in the pub alongside Chancellor John Healey in Essex as he announced business rates would be cut.

Get Scotland's top politics newsletter straight to your inbox.

If there was time for a carefully choreographed pub visit in Essex, there was time to answer a handful of questions in Glasgow.

His first trip north offered the ideal opportunity to answer the obvious questions. Does he intend to strengthen Holyrood? What does "partnership" look like when Edinburgh and London disagree? Beyond warm words, how will his approach differ from the governments that came before him?

Relations between the UK and Scottish Government have been strained over the last year or so and while Burnham promises to improve that, exactly how will he do it? Burnham says he wants a reset. Scotland deserves to know how.

Those questions were never asked because the Prime Minister never gave anyone the chance.

John Swinney, on the other hand, seized the opportunity from Burnham. While the Prime Minister won’t speak to the press, John Swinney has set aside an hour for broadcast and print media to brief us after the meeting.

Read more Unspun:

• Why Andy Burnham kept Douglas Alexander as Scottish Secretary
• Burnham's personal allowance freeze: Scotland budget impact
• Finally, a way to put the Sturgeon-Salmond-Murrell scandals to bed
• Is the free university model failing Scottish students?

It feels out of character for Burnham as a politician who has spent the majority of his career arguing that Westminster must be less about photo ops and more about engagement.

If he wants to send a message of openness and collaboration, this approach misses the mark. What it does do, though, is ensure we will find out Burnham’s plans only when he wants to tell us.

It matters because Burnham’s pitch is built on trust. He cannot ask people to believe Westminster has changed while behaving as though Westminster still decides when, where and whether it can be scrutinised.

First impressions count in politics. On his first visit as Prime Minister, Burnham had the chance to tell us how he will do politics differently. Instead, the story became the questions he chose not to answer.

Thanks to Downing Street, John Swinney could not have asked for a better start.