Trump Campaign Files Complaint, Accuses UK's Labour Party of Election Interference
The Trump campaign has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), accusing the UK’s Labour Party of “blatant foreign interference” in the U.S. election. The complaint alleges that the Labour Party is aiding the Harris-Walz campaign, a move Trump’s team argues is both illegal and unethical.
According to the filing, media reports suggest that Labour-affiliated individuals have been actively involved in supporting the Harris campaign, even traveling to the U.S. to do so. The Trump campaign claims that this kind of assistance amounts to an illegal foreign contribution under U.S. election laws.
The BBC reports that while Labour activists have been involved in the U.S. election, they are doing so in their personal capacity rather than as official representatives of the Labour Party. At this point, the Labour Party itself has not issued a formal statement in response to the allegations.
In its complaint, the Trump campaign points to media coverage claiming that Labour-affiliated individuals have been campaigning on the ground in key U.S. battleground states for Harris. This, the complaint argues, provides a “reasonable inference” of illegal foreign contributions, something U.S. election law strictly forbids.
Additionally, the complaint cites reports of communications between senior Labour officials and the Harris campaign, claiming that meetings and discussions took place. However, there’s no evidence so far that the Harris-Walz campaign was aware of any formal Labour involvement.
One key piece of evidence mentioned in the complaint is a since-deleted LinkedIn post by Sofia Patel, the head of operations for the Labour Party. In the post, Patel mentioned that “nearly 100” current and former Labour members were set to head to the U.S. to campaign, offering them assistance with housing arrangements. This has raised further suspicions about Labour’s level of involvement.
Interestingly, the Trump campaign draws a comparison to a 2016 incident involving the Australian Labor Party (ALP). In that case, the ALP sent staffers to the U.S. to assist Bernie Sanders’ campaign, which led to both the ALP and the campaign being fined for violating U.S. election law.
Labour officials, however, maintain that the trips of their activists to the U.S. are neither organised nor funded by the party, which would keep them within legal bounds. Foreign nationals are allowed to volunteer in U.S. elections as long as they are not paid, a point that is likely to be central to the ongoing debate.
It’s also worth noting that collaborations between political parties in the UK and U.S. are not unheard of. In the past, members of the UK’s Conservative Party have worked closely with the U.S. Republican Party. However, the Trump campaign is pushing the FEC to investigate whether Labour’s actions this time cross the legal line.
The Harris-Walz campaign has not yet provided any comment on the complaint or the news reports it references.
