Just over two years after taking office as Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese has held his first official conversation with Andy Burnham, the United Kingdom’s newest prime minister – marking the fifth different British leader Albanese has been paired with since he won federal office in May 2022.
Burnham, the former long-serving Mayor of Greater Manchester, moved into 10 Downing Street early Monday after being selected as the new leader of the UK Labour Party, following the resignation of former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who held the post for just over two years after Labour’s landslide 2024 general election victory.
The introductory call, held shortly after Burnham’s formal appointment, saw Albanese extend warm congratulations to the new British premier alongside a formal invitation to visit Australia in the coming months.
The wide-ranging discussion covered nearly every corner of the deep, decades-long bilateral relationship between Canberra and London. Key topics on the agenda included the ongoing implementation of the AUKUS trilateral security partnership, progress on post-Brexit trade and bilateral economic investment, and Australia’s pioneering policy banning social media use for children under a minimum age.
Beyond domestic and bilateral policy, the two leaders aligned on the importance of joint UK-Australian action to address pressing global challenges, ranging from the ongoing armed conflict in the Middle East to the complex risks and transformative opportunities presented by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence.
In a lighter moment, the pair also bonded over their shared enthusiasm for rugby league.
Albanese’s string of introductory meetings with successive UK prime ministers is a direct product of the extraordinary political instability that has shaken British politics over the past two and a half years. When Albanese first entered The Lodge in May 2022, Boris Johnson was already three years into his premiership. Johnson resigned just months later, replaced in September 2022 by Liz Truss, whose tenure infamously ended after just 49 days – shorter than the shelf life of a head of lettuce that became a viral social media sensation mocking her short-lived time in office.
Truss was succeeded by Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who held office until Labour’s 2024 general election landslide. Starmer then took the reins until his resignation earlier this month, clearing the way for Burnham’s appointment and the latest introductory meeting for the Australian prime minister.