How Anthony Albanese helped Keir Starmer win his way to Downing Street

Written by Rob Harris for The Sydney Morning Herald.

One Australian Labor figure who basically stayed behind in London was David Nelson, a right-hand man for Paul Erickson in 2022 and a veteran campaigner at state and federal levels.

Nelson, who founded the Brisbane lobbying firm Anacta with colleague Evan Moorhead, was at the centre of an integrity inquiry that forced Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to ban “dual-hatting”, where people who work on political campaigns can lobby governments after elections. Although there was no evidence that any rules were broken, the pair are unable to personally lobby state ministers until after the 2024 Queensland election, scheduled for October 26.

So Nelson, who was also hoping to expand the company’s footprint in Britain, began a role in Labour HQ to help craft Starmer’s messaging before the general election.

Having learnt his trade at Hawker Britton, a Labor-aligned government relations firm, he was a key part of the campaign, working closely with Starmer’s closest political aide, Morgan McSweeney, in Labour’s HQ in Southwark, a south London suburb.

The 40-year-old, who built his reputation in Australia analysing data and buying campaign advertising, helped the UK Labour Party develop videos, pore over research and polling in target seats and draw up responses to Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives.