Anthony Albanese’s Labor success under spotlight as UK Labour looks to Adelaide conference for political lessons
Fresh from replacing a prime minister, British MPs will be watching on from the sidelines of Labor's national conference, hoping to find borrowed strategies.
When thousands of party faithful gather in Adelaide for Labor’s national conference, many will be looking to see what direction the party goes in.
But the trajectory is also set to be examined by international observers, hoping to take lessons back home to turn around their own political fortunes.
UK Labour MP Andrew Pakes will be among those attending the gathering of true believers, at a time when his own party has removed a prime minister lagging in the polls.
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“I’m really interested in what are the antidotes that the ALP has deployed in the past to go from being behind in the polls to winning a second term,” he told AAP ahead of the conference.
“Labour in the UK won a big mandate in 2024, but we’ve struggled to get our message across and deliver the pace of change that people want to see.”
After just two years in office, Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned following pressure from colleagues.
On Monday, Andy Burnham was appointed the next leader, becoming the seventh prime minister in 10 years to take residence in Downing Street.
Mr Pakes said many in the UK were looking to Australian Labor for how to create stability.
“(We’re) really interested in listening and learning from the ALP experience and the way Albanese managed to take a difficult situation and turn it around,” he said.
“We’re really interested in the style of campaigning, which seems a lot more pugnacious in Australia compared to the gentle British way that we’ve traditionally campaigned.”
Mr Albanese spoke at the UK Labour conference in 2025 about a path forward for left-leaning governments in a time of rising support for right-wing parties.
Mr Pakes will speak at the three-day Adelaide conference about mutual economies, at a time when Australia was outstripping the UK in areas like agricultural co-ops.
“We think we can learn from the Australian model and take that even further,” he said.
As for whether Mr Burnham had what it takes to turn around the political fortunes for UK Labour, Mr Pakes was optimistic about his party’s chances under changed leadership.
“He has brought the Labour movement together,” he said.
“Rarely have I seen in my lifetime a candidate for prime minister who managed to unite left and right within the party factions and bring that together in terms of a powerful platform.”
