Recently, the campaign team of the US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump accused the ruling Labour Party in the UK of engaging in “overt foreign intervention” in the US presidential election by sending volunteers to support Kamala Harris’ campaign. In response, the UK Prime Minister stated that Labour Party volunteers were utilizing their spare time to assist the Democratic Party.
Trump’s team filed a complaint with the US Federal Election Commission on Tuesday, October 22, requesting an investigation into the Labour Party’s allegedly illegal donations to Harris’ campaign.
The complaint stated: “Reports surrounding the relationship between the Kamala Harris campaign team and the Labour Party reasonably infer that the Labour Party has engaged in and the Harris campaign team has accepted illegal foreign donations.”
The letter also referenced a report in The Washington Post, claiming that some strategists from the Labour Party provided advice to Harris’ campaign team and other reports on meetings between senior Labour Party officials and the Democratic Party campaign team.
Individuals mentioned in the complaint include several senior Labour Party figures currently holding key positions in the UK Prime Minister’s office, including Prime Minister Starmer’s chief of staff.
Unnamed UK officials told Reuters that in recent months, some senior Labour Party advisors have traveled to the US to meet with Democratic Party strategists, sharing their experiences on how the Labour Party regained almost all industrial areas that had turned away from them in the 2019 UK election.
UK Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Starmer denied that Trump’s team’s complaint would harm the relationship between the UK and Trump. He stated that Labour Party supporters voluntarily participate in their spare time.
Starmer said, “Labour Party volunteers participate in almost every US election. They volunteer in action during their spare time, I think they stay with other volunteers. It’s all very simple.”
The complaint filed by Trump’s team has put Starmer in a very awkward position. He met with Trump last month in New York during the United Nations General Assembly.
During the meeting at Trump Tower, Starmer expressed his belief in personal relationships on the world stage. When asked if the involvement of Labour officials in Kamala Harris’ Democratic campaign would jeopardize his relationship with Trump, Starmer replied, “No.”
He said, “I spent time in New York with President Trump, had dinner with him. I did that to ensure we establish a good relationship between us, and we did, I am very grateful he took the time.”
It has been a tradition for UK political volunteers to travel to the US before every US election. Left-wing Labour activists typically support the Democratic Party, while the Conservative Party supports the Republican Party.
Trump has a close relationship with UK right-wing politician Nigel Farage, and he had a good relationship with former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson. During the meeting at Trump Tower in September, Trump had praised Starmer.
According to US regulations, foreign individuals can serve as volunteers in election activities, but they cannot provide financial contributions.
The accusations of intervention will depend on whether the Labour Party funded any volunteers’ activities.
In 2018, the Federal Election Commission fined Bernie Sanders’ campaign team because the Australian Labour Party funded volunteers to support Sanders in the US by providing flights and meals.
Trump’s complaint cited media reports and a now-deleted LinkedIn post from Sofia Patel, the operational manager of the UK Labour Party. In the post, she mentioned that nearly 100 current and former Labour Party members would travel to the US in the coming weeks to assist Vice President Harris’ campaign.
Patel’s post stated that she had ten spots to fill in North Carolina and added, “We will sort out your accommodation issues.”
In a statement, the Labour Party clarified that any party members participating were doing so at their own expense, with accommodation provided by other volunteers.
(This article was based on reports from the UK Press Association)