‘Freebies’ scandal forces UK PM Starmer to scrap Australia visit

London: Sir Keir Starmer has all but dumped plans for his first visit to Australia as British prime minister as he tries to arrest his political fortunes against a backdrop of plunging approval ratings and a damaging “freebies” scandal.

Advanced work was underway in Canberra to host Starmer following the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in two weeks’ time but several diplomatic sources have told this masthead the visit was unlikely to go ahead because of his government’s domestic pressures.

Keir Starmer and Anthony Albanese chat during the Australian prime minister’s visit to London in May 2023.Credit: Instagram

Since gaining power after 14 years in opposition, Labour has faced numerous headaches, including over cuts to winter fuel payments for pensioners and a row over donations.

Starmer, attempting to restore order to his administration in the week he marks 100 days in office, was forced into a massive shake-up of his troubled team at the weekend, sacking Sue Gray, his controversial chief of staff, following weeks of internal criticism of her performance and a power struggle behind the scenes.

Downing Street confirmed Starmer would still join King Charles and more than 50 other Commonwealth leaders – including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – from October 21 in Samoa for CHOGM. The summit is increasingly viewed by the UK as a critical vehicle to help combat Chinese influence on its former colonies and the so-called Global South, a term describing various countries that are sometimes described as developing or underdeveloped.

The King will visit Sydney and Canberra ahead of the meeting but Number 10 would not comment when asked whether the UK leader had scrapped plans to visit both Australia and New Zealand after the event.

After Starmer’s election secured a Labour majority of more than 170 seats in July, Albanese said he expected an official visit to Australia from his left-wing ally “in coming months”. The two had formed a close bond since Labor took power May 2022 and Starmer was said to have been keen to repay Albanese’s advice and counsel with a visit.

The trip would have marked 10 years since the last sitting UK leader visited Australia when David Cameron addressed federal parliament ahead of the G20 summit in Brisbane.

It is the second time in a year that a major ally has had to cancel an official visit because of domestic political pressures – a summit of the Quad countries scheduled for Sydney was scrapped after US President Joe Biden pulled out because of debt ceiling negotiations.

One diplomat, not authorised to speak publicly, said Downing Street was “sheepish” about its decision to scrap the visit, while another said it had been made clear that Starmer’s inner circle believe he needed to focus of his flagging political fortunes at home after a short-lived honeymoon.

Starmer last week paid back more than £6000 ($11,651) of gifts and hospitality that he received after weeks of revelations about clothing and other donations. He had previously defended his decision to accept about £32,000 of clothing and £20,000 of luxury accommodation from Labour donor Lord Waheed Alli.

A YouGov survey of 2121 adults in Britain released on Tuesday found that only 27 per cent had a positive view of Starmer – his lowest personal rating with the pollster since September 2021. By contrast, 63 per cent had a negative view, the highest score against him to date. It gives the new prime minister, who has painted himself as a non-ideological leader focused on results,a net approval rating of -36.

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