After meeting Trump, Albanese veers left

London: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has joined like-minded leaders in dismissing the politics of “grievance” from conservative parties, as they gathered at a major summit in London that aimed to set a course for “progressive” governments on challenges ranging from migration to social unrest and national security.

A who’s who of the political left joined Albanese at the gathering, which features key critics of US President Donald Trump – although few at the summit mentioned the American leader by name.

Albanese joined UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on stage at the summit alongside their counterparts Mark Carney of Canada and Kristrun Frostadottir of Iceland, issuing a common message about countering the “populist right” by focusing on practical policies.

Starmer, the only one of the group to mention Trump by name, warned that the world

Carney expressed a similar view by saying that “nostalgia is not a strategy” and that progressive parties should accept the world has changed.

Mette Frederiksen of Denmark, Pedro Sanchez of Spain

Albanese and Blair met at Stoke Lodge, the Australian high commissioner’s residence in London, for private talks lasting about 30 minutes, ahead of the arrival at the conference of prime ministers. They were due to be joined at the summit by other progressive politicians such as former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern and some of Trump’s most prominent American rivals.

In brief remarks before their talks, Blair asked Albanese about this week’s United Nations meetings in New York, and Albanese thanked Blair for his message of congratulations after this year’s federal election.

Blair, the prime minister of the UK from 1997 to 2007, swept Labour into power after years of Conservative rule by promising a “third way” for his government and aiming to hold the centre in national politics without shifting too far to the left on the economy and social policies.

But he provoked strong criticism from his own side of politics when he took Britain into the war in the Middle East alongside the US – and Australia under prime minister John Howard – in Iraq in 2003.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is joining the summit in London with a message to fellow leaders about protecting national borders and security. This will include a policy announcement on the launch of a digital ID for all workers – seen as a way to prevent illegal workers and discourage asylum seekers from coming to the UK by boat across the English Channel.

“There is no doubt that for years, left-wing parties, including my own, did shy away from people’s concerns around illegal immigration,” Sir Keir wrote in London’s The Telegraph on Friday, ahead of the summit. “It has been too easy for people to enter the country, work in the shadow economy and remain illegally.”

His message is that the government must convince voters it stands for “patriotic national renewal” while avoiding what he calls the “toxic” policies of the populist right.

That parallels a call from Albanese earlier this year for what he termed a “progressive patriotism” that aims for social cohesion.

Albanese and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, are expected to have a private dinner with Starmer and his wife, Victoria, as well as Carney and Frederiksen.

The conference comes days after Albanese met Trump in New York and secured formal talks to be held in Washington next month, easing months of doubt about the strength of the security alliance and the personal relationship between the leaders.

Albanese is in London for formal talks with Starmer and a meeting with King Charles this weekend, before he speaks at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool – a rare move for an Australian leader.

Carney has also said he will meet Albanese, as well as others, while in the UK. The pair met in June when Carney hosted the G7 summit in Alberta.

The Global Progress Action Summit in London features leaders and policy advocates from 40 countries. Speakers include senior Democrats such as Illinois Governor Jay “JB” Pritzker and former US transport secretary Pete Buttigieg, both named as possible candidates to challenge Trump’s political movement at the presidential election in 2028.

It is organised by Labour Together, a key group within the Labour Party that backs Starmer, along with the Centre for American Progress Action Fund in the US and the Institute for Public Policy Research in the UK.

Senior British ministers due to attend include Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary David Lammy, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Defence Secretary John Healey.

Albanese has strong contacts in the Labour Party after years of informal talks with leaders, including Starmer, and his success at the May federal election is likely to hold lessons for them when they have lost support in the polls under pressure from the Conservatives and Reform UK.

Starmer is facing direct pressure from a Labour leadership aspirant, Manchester mayor and former MP Andy Burnham, who has criticised the government’s performance and said MPs were calling him to say he should challenge for the top job.

The welcome for Albanese from the political left will contrast with the cooler response to the prime minister from parts of the Trump administration, where officials want him to lift defence spending and have put the AUKUS submarine pact under review.

Trump used his address to the United Nations this week to dismiss climate change as a “con job” and warn leaders they were ruining their countries with high migration.

In a sharp contrast with the US president, Albanese called climate change an “existential threat” in his address in New York and is seeking support to bring the UN’s annual climate summit to Australia and the Pacific Islands next year.

While Trump strongly criticised the UN and wants staff charged for a failure of an escalator when he was on his way to his address, Albanese is aligned with progressive leaders who back the global forum.

“If the United Nations steps back, we all lose ground,” he said in his address to the General Assembly in New York.

Albanese is believed to be the first sitting Australian prime minister to speak at the Labour conference, which is a major event for the party and the scene of dozens of speaking sessions about progressive politics.

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