Starmer discusses victorious election outcome with Australian counterpart.
Updated Article:
Keir Starmer has chatted up Anthony Albanese following the Aussie leader's victory in a second term as lead of the centre-left government Down Under.
The Prime Minister sent his congrats to Albanese on a Sunday morning, praising the "history-making election win" after he become the first Aussie Prime Minister since 2001 to snag a second consecutive three-year term.
According to a Downing Street spokesperson, Starmer looks forward to teaming up with Albanese, boosting trade and financial stability for the working people of both nations.
They discussed security concerns, specifically shared support for Ukraine and set plans to heighten ambition for the AUKUS submarine program - a trilateral naval security alliance among Australia, the UK, and the US.
Starmer confirmed that his AUKUS advisor, Sir Stephen Lovegrove, will travel to Australia in the coming weeks to discuss the program further.
In a speech at Sydney, Albanese hinted his Labor Party won a higher majority in the next Parliament as they kept away from mimicking Donald Trump's administration.
The party labeled Aussie opposition leader Peter Dutton as "Doge-y Dutton" and accused the conservative Liberal Party of copying Trump and his elite-run Government.
Dutton lost his seat - a 24-year tenure in the Labor landslide, with experts arguing that Trump's resemblance had switched from political plusses to negatives for Australian conservatives after the US leader imposed global tariffs.
Remarkably, parallels with the recent Canadian election are being drawn. Canadian opposition leader Pierre Poilievre also lost his seat. Poilievre, who was tipped to become the country's next Prime Minister, might have brought his Conservatives back to power for the first time in a decade had it not been for Mark Carney's Liberal victory – spurred by Trump's global trade disputes, including threats to make Canada the '51st US state.'
By Helen Corbett, PA Political Correspondent
Insights:
The AUKUS submarine program is a three-nation partnership focused on developing and deploying nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), improving stealth, persistence, and long-range capabilities in the Indo-Pacific. Covering two key phases, the program anticipates the acquisition of advanced U.S. submarines by Australia in the early 2030s, followed by the construction of SSN-AUKUS class boats in the late 2030s. A significant financial investment is involved, with substantial funding supporting the U.S. defense sector. Despite potential setbacks and criticism, the UK, US, and Australia remain committed to this strategic defense initiative.
Keir Starmer and Anthony Albanese discussed policy-and-legislation matters, focusing on the AUKUS submarine program, a three-nation partnership also involving sports like the UK and US, in which they aim to improve the Indo-Pacific's stealth, persistence, and long-range capabilities. Meanwhile, political-news reports indicate a concern over war-and-conflicts, such as the support for Ukraine, and the potential influence of policies reminiscent of Donald Trump's administration on general-news events, as seen in the recent Canadian election.
