Elaph from London: With Donald Trump‘s return to the White House, British political circles are deeply interested in the relationship he will establish with Sir Keir Starmer, the Labor Prime Minister.
The Trump-Starmer duo had dinner in New York last September, and have spoken on the phone since Trump won the election, but a former aide to the president-elect suggested that the dispute that arose during the campaign might cause some headaches.
What happened?
About 100 Labor Party staff are believed to have volunteered for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the November 5 election.
In a now-deleted post on the social media site LinkedIn last month, Labor’s chief of operations said: “I have approximately 100 Labor Party staffers, current and former, going to the United States in the next few weeks, heading to North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia.”
He added, “I have 10 spots available for anyone available to head to North Carolina — we’ll arrange your housing.”
What was the reaction?
Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump aide, responded to an X post about Labor activists by saying: “This is Keir Starmer’s crime.”
Tech mogul Elon Musk also claimed Labor volunteering in the Democratic campaign was “illegal”, and Nigel Farage was also unhappy.
Was that unusual?
US law prohibits any financial contributions, donations, or expenditures from foreign nationals in any election. However, they are allowed to volunteer for campaigns “as long as the individual is not receiving compensation from anyone for services.”
It is noteworthy that the British Labor Party has been with the American Democrats for a long time, just as the Conservatives have allied themselves with the Republicans.
Labor Party employees traveled to the United States during the previous presidential elections to campaign for the Democratic candidate.
Senior UK Conservatives, particularly former Prime Minister Liz Truss, have also attended high-profile Republican events, including the national conference in July.
Could this harm relationships?
Trump’s team has taken legal action in the US over the election campaign, although at this stage Labor hopes the matter is over.
While Starmer and Trump are not natural allies, there have been warm words between them publicly in recent months.
But because they’re not on the same side politically at all, another former Trump aide suggested the president-elect might hold a grudge if other issues arise in the future.
Joe Grogon told Sky News after the election that while his old boss had “enormous affection” for the UK, news of Labor staff helping his opponent was “stupid”.
He hopes Sir Keir can “extend an olive branch to President Trump and work together”, but suggested he admits he “got it wrong”.
“It upset every Republican I spoke to who knew about it,” he said.
* This material was prepared from the British Sky News channel website at the following link:
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