Trump campaign files complaint against Labour for ‘foreign interference’ in US election over support for Kamala Harris
Sir Keir Starmer has hit back with his own statement against the complaint
DONALD Trump’s presidential campaign has accused Labour of “foreign interference” in the US election.
The Republican nominee’s team filed a complaint accusing the Prime Minister’s “far-Left” party of inspiring Kamala Harris‘ “dangerously liberal policies”.
A statement posted on on Tuesday night said: “The Trump-Vance Campaign has filed a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint against the Harris-Walz Campaign and the Labour Party of the United Kingdom for illegal foreign campaign contributions and interference in our elections.”
The linked complaint refers to reports by The Telegraph that Labour Party staff announced plans to send some 100 activists to the US to campaign for Kamala.
Sofia Patel, the head of Labour’s operations, shared a now-deleted post to Linkedin detailing the trip which was aimed at crucial swing states needed for Harris to win.
It is understood that they were organised in a personal capacity and accommodation was arranged by volunteers for the Democrats.
Trump’s team is claiming that “the Harris campaign has accepted, illegal foreign national contributions”.
It comes as we are now just 13 days away from the US election – which at this stage appears too close to call.
Poll tracker FiveThirtyEight has Trump trailing his Democrat rival Harris by a margin of just 1.7 per cent.
But it is sitting on a knife edge in key battleground states – where the election will be won or lost regardless of the national vote share.
Sir Keir Starmer hit back after Republicans made the official complaint.
Asked if it was a mistake to send volunteers, he said: “The Labour Party has volunteers, and has gone over pretty much every election.
“They’re doing it in their spare time, they’re doing it as volunteers, they’re staying I think with other volunteers over there.
“That’s what they’ve done in previous elections, that’s what they’re doing in this election and that’s really straight forward.”
Meanwhile, a letter from the Republican camp also refers to a report in the Washington Post which claims that advice was offered from the Labour Party to Ms Harris’ campaign.
It mentions other reporting over meetings between senior Labour staff and the Democratic campaign.
However, Sir Keir has also hit back at suggestions this could ruin his relationship with Mr Trump, who could return to the White House after a four year absence.
Sir Keir, speaking to reporters on the way to Samoa, said: “No. I spent time in New York with President Trump, had dinner with him and my purpose in doing that was to make sure that between the two of us we established a good relationship, which we did, and we’re grateful for him for making the time in Florida for that dinner.
“We had a good, constructive discussion and, of course as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom I will work with whoever the American people return as their President in their elections which are very close now.”
Donald Trump on course for dramatic election win after flipping key state, say experts
By Noa Hoffman and Harry Cole
DONALD Trump is now the punters’ favourite to storm to victory in the US Election.
On the Betfair exchange, the Republican chief is on his shortest odds since the end of July.
Kamala Harris is now out to 6/4, her biggest odds since accepting the Democrat nomination.
On Never Mind The Ballots, Top Republican Strategist, Erol Morkoc, declared “we’ve got this in the bag”.
More than £145m has been wagered on the Betfair Exchange US Election markets, with over £10m staked in the last seven days.
The majority of cash, £6.6m, is coming in favour of Trump.
Trump is now favourite to win in a number of key swing states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, North Carolina and Georgia.
And the betting has tightened in Wisconsin, where it’s now neck and neck, and Michigan, where Harris, who is still the favourite, has seen her odds drift.
But the latest ABC poll puts the Democrat candidate ahead of her rival, 48% to 46% as of October 22.
Betfair Spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said: “It’s been a monumental couple of weeks on the Betfair Exchange US election winner market, with the odds significantly shifting in favour of Donald Trump.
“The punters are piling in on Donald Trump. In the last two weeks alone, £14million has been wagered on this market, the vast majority of which has gone in favour of Donald Trump.
“It going to come down to the key swing states and he’s flipped Pennsylvania. If he wins Pennsylvania, North Carolina & Georgia, the race is over.”
He added: “All the momentum in the betting has been for the former President, and he is now as short as 4/6 to win a second term in the White House.
“We’ve even seen our Pennsylvania market shift in his favour, which would have a significant impact on the race if he was to win the Keystone State.
“We’re expecting plenty more money on the Betfair Exchange market as the race to the White House enters the final two weeks, and there’s no telling if the odds might shift again, but as things stand it is Trump who’s the punters’ firm favourite.”
Mr Morkoc and Democratic Strategist Laura Fink locked horns on Never Mind The Ballots today, as they debated just how set in stone the race is.
The Republicans Overseas chief insisted swathes of “shy Republicans” will show up to the polls on November 5, paving the way for a Trump victory.
Mr Morkoc said: “He’s got a commanding lead in each of the swing states.
“As far as polling goes, if the polls are tied people are afraid to say how they’ll vote.
“It’s not going to be an easy one, but I think we’ve got this in the bag.”
Hitting back, Ms Finkel accused the Republicans of exerting “wild hubris”.
She said: “This is a dead heat.
“I think the latest swing state polls show Harris ahead in four out of the seven swing states.
“I think some of this wild hubris is to the detriment of the Republican Party.”
The PM met with Mr Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, during a trip to New York last month.
He visited Trump Tower for talks ahead of the US election.
Sir Keir said he wanted to meet Mr Trump face-to-face because “I’m a great believer in personal relationships on the world stage”.
Richard Grenell, tipped to become Secretary of State if Mr Trump is elected, warned Labour activists to stay out of the election.
He told Newsnight: “This is a pretty open and shut case. Don’t interfere in the American elections and you won’t be sued.”
The Labour Party has been approached for comment.
It comes as Kamala Harris regarding running opponent Trump and if he were to lose the presidential election.
Harris was being grilled on News live a mere two weeks before Election Day.
Upon being questioned on what she would do if Trump declared an election win before the votes are counted, Harris said she plans to remain “grounded in the present”.
But she added: “We will deal with election night and after as they come, and we have the resources and the expertise and the focus on that as well.
“This is a person… who tried to undo a free and fair election, who still denies the will of the people.”
Kamala was also pushed on whether she would grant Trump a pardon if he were to lose the presidential election.
The Vice President refused to answer, saying she wouldn’t be drawn on “hypotheticals”.
When quizzed on whether or not she would appoint Republican to her cabinet Harris responded with a wry smile: “I’ll keep you posted”.
Kamala’s polling numbers spiked in the first few weeks of her campaign in July and saw nearly a four percentage points lead towards the end of August.
Since September the numbers have been neck in neck and predominantly stable, while the polls remain tight.
According to polling averages there are seven states considered up for grabs in this election, where neither Harris nor Trump have any clear victory.
Arizona, Georgia and North Carolina polls show Trump has been ahead by a small percentage for a few weeks.
Meanwhile, in Nevada Harris has remained ahead.
She has also been leading in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin since the start of August.
However, over the past few days, Trump is now slightly ahead in Pennsylvania.
As of the latest figures, the polls suggest that there’s merely a couple of percentage points between Harris and Trump in all of the swing states.
