Starmer insists relationship with Trump has not been jeopardised by ‘blatant foreign interference’ complaint
Sir Keir Starmer has insisted his relationship with Donald Trump has not been jeopardised after the Republican candidate’s team accused Labour of “blatant foreign interference” in the US election.
The prime minister said on Tuesday he had “established a good relationship” with Mr Trump despite the Trump campaign filing a legal complaint against Labour officials travelling to the US to volunteer for Kamala Harris in the tightly fought presidential race.
The complaint, filed with the independent Federal Election Commission, alleged that the volunteering by Labour Party members, coupled with reports of contact between senior Labour operatives and the Harris campaign, amounted to “illegal foreign campaign contributions and interference” to help Mr Trump’s Democrat rival in the US presidential election.
Sir Keir sought to downplay the row and role Labour Party activists were playing in the US election as he travelled to Samoa for the annual Commonwealth heads of government summit.
Speaking to reporters on the 28-hour flight over, the PM stressed Labour Party members were going over as volunteers rather than on the Labour Party books.
“The Labour Party has volunteers, who have gone over pretty much every election,” he said.
“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 straightforward.”
Pic: AP
The Labour Party has insisted it is not funding the travel or accommodation for activists. Federal election rules stipulate foreign volunteers can’t spend more than $1,000 (£770) helping candidates.
However, in filing the complaint, Mr Trump’s legal team cited media reports that Labour Party officials, including the prime minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and Matthew Doyle, Downing Street’s director of communications, had travelled to the US in recent months to advise the Harris campaign.
The Trump team also cited a now-deleted LinkedIn post by Sofia Patel, director of operations for Labour, that suggested the party could be paying accommodation costs for activists, with the post stating “we will sort out your housing”.
“Those searching for foreign interference in our elections need to look no further than [the] LinkedIn post,” said the letter from Trump campaign lawyer Gary Lawkowski. “The interference is occurring in plain sight.”
Mr Trump’s lawyers say such support breaches US campaign finance laws, as they count as contributions from foreign actors, and they demanded an “immediate investigation” into what they called “blatant foreign interference” in the election.
Read more:
Harris prepared to challenge Trump if he prematurely declares victory
Trump hits out at ‘jerk’ Obama
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Starmer’s first 100 days explained
Starmer and Trump ‘established a good relationship’
The prime minister argued the row would not jeopardise his relationship with Mr Trump should the Republican candidate win the election, insisting the pair had “established a good relationship” when they dined at Trump Tower together last month.
Sir Keir said: “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 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.”
The tensions between the ruling Labour Party and possible next US president come as the prime minister travels to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) on the Pacific island of Samoa this week, where he hopes to discuss trade opportunities ahead of next week’s historic budget.
His team back in Downing Street and the Treasury are putting the finishing touches on, in the words of one insider, an “unprecedented” budget that looks to bridge a shortfall of £40bn.
To plug the gap, the prime minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who insisted ahead of the election they had “no plans” to raise taxes beyond what was laid out in the manifesto, are now rolling the pitch for a mix of big tax increases and spending cuts.
With such big stakes back home, coupled with a difficult run for a prime minister beset by rows over freebies and dysfunction in Number 10, one former adviser wondered aloud to me this week whether Sir Keir was spending too much time overseas when he should be focused on the domestic agenda back home and resetting his missions more clearly with the public.
However, he and his team defended the prime minister’s decision to travel to CHOGM a week before the budget, arguing these summits help to reset Britain’s relations in the world and drive trade.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Difficult choices’ in Reeves’ budget
One of his staffers noted the 56 Commonwealth nations’ economies are set to be worth $19.5trn (£15trn) by 2027 and these are markets worth tapping into.
But it is true too the leaders of the biggest Commonwealth economies are not in attendance.
Fellow G7 leader Justin Trudeau of Canada is not making the long trip to Samoa, while India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are in Kazan as Russian President Vladimir Putin plays host to 36 world leaders at a BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit.
Pressure over question of reparations
Meanwhile, the prime minister is also under pressure from some Labour MPs and Caribbean governments over reparations for countries affected by slavery and colonialism.
While Sir Keir is clear he doesn’t plan to engage in this discussion at the summit, it is nevertheless rising up the agenda.
This week, the Commonwealth will select a new secretary general and all three candidates vying to replace Patricia Scotland, the former Labour cabinet minister who’s been in post since 2016, have called for reparations for countries affected by slavery and colonialism.
But as the first sitting British prime minister to visit a Pacific island in a formal capacity, the prime minister will want to make the case his is, to quote one staffer, a “once in a generation opportunity” to harness the Commonwealth.
With tensions back home over the budget and the man who could be the next president of the United States, unity this week with old allies is what he needs.
Voters across 50 states are preparing to cast their ballots after a bitterly contested US election campaign, which will see Donald Trump or Kamala Harris become president.
In the last few hours, both candidates have been giving their final pitches. “The momentum is on our side,” Ms Harris told a crowd in Philadelphia that chanted back, “We will win”.
“Tonight, then, we finish as we started: with optimism, with energy, with joy,” she said, while enjoying the support of celebrity endorsements on the day from Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Jon Bon Jovi.
In contrast, Mr Trump ended his campaign in Michigan, repeating key messages about the economy and immigration.
A handful of states will play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the election. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin hold the keys to the White House.
To become president, the winning candidate needs 270 electoral votes or more, with each state carrying a different number of votes.
But the focus has been on Pennsylvania which carries 19 electoral votes, the most of all the swing states.
It has been a remarkable journey for both candidates – with Mr Trump surviving two assassination attempts and Ms Harris not even originally in the running.
Katy Perry performed in Pittsburgh in support of Kamala Harris. Pic: AP
For more than a year, the 2024 presidential race seemed destined for a rematch between Joe Biden and Mr Trump – but a disastrous TV debate by Mr Biden eventually forced him to withdraw from the ticket.
The Democratic party’s decision to replace Mr Biden with his vice president transformed the race and shifted polls in Ms Harris’s favour. But only just.
Many polls are too tight to call and, with a large margin of error, most experts are refusing to predict the outcome.
Read more:
Overseas ballots face legal challenge
You decide the new president
Should we fear Trumponomics?
Later, attention will turn to those battleground states including Georgia, which is among the first polls to close at 7pm local time (midnight UK time).
State election officials told Sky News they could have a result as early as 10pm (3am UK time).
Even so, it could be several days before the US has a definitive result.
Voters are not just selecting a president. In addition, 10 states will hold abortion-related ballots, half of which would overturn existing restrictions.
Predict who you think will win in each swing state and we’ll tell you who the president will be if you’re right.
Tonight, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US-partner network NBC.
You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.
US
Voter in UK ‘terrified’ by US election legal battle, as up to 4,000 ballots challenged in Pennsylvania
Up to 4,000 people voting overseas in the US election are having their ballots challenged in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
They include Selma Aldi, 47, from Camden in north London who received a letter on Sunday explaining that her ballot in the US presidential election is at risk of being rejected.
“It was a shock,” she said. “It was terrifying to be targeted, to potentially lose a right that I hold as very important. It’s even a feeling that someone is questioning my identity.”
The trainee GP, who grew up in Hershey, Pennsylvania left America in 2000 but has voted via absentee ballot in every US presidential election since.
A letter from election officials in Dauphin County outlines the legal challenge. It reads: “The applicant is not registered to vote and therefore is not eligible to vote in Pennsylvania.
“Under Pennsylvania law, it is a felony to permit any person to vote who is not registered.”
A hearing on the legal challenge is scheduled for Friday, in which Ms Aldi can respond.
Around 2.8 million US citizens living abroad are entitled to vote in the election, no matter where they are on polling day.
But each state has different procedures and rules on how election paperwork can be sent and received.
Selma Aldi on her graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, seated next to a figure of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the US.
But Ari Savitzky, senior staff Attorney at the ACLU said “any attempt to challenge [voters] eligibility is a clear violation of their rights”.
He told Sky News: “Between 3,000 and 4,000 challenges have been filed in Pennsylvania to the absentee ballots of US citizens living abroad.
“For decades, federal law has guaranteed the right of US citizens living abroad to vote in federal elections at their last US residence.
“In addition to being legally baseless, these challenges are an abuse to voters and to election administrators.”
Read more from Sky News:
US election: Colleges, swing states and how it all works
Should we fear Trumponomics?
What happens if there’s a tie in the US election?
Deborah Hinchey from another voting rights group, All Voting is Local, said: “Election deniers across Pennsylvania have submitted thousands of mass challenges to overseas voters.
“They want to block as many ballots as possible and silence our voices… but these baseless challenges have failed before and the proper checks and balances are in place to make sure they’ll fail again,” she added.
Tonight, Sky News will have access to the most comprehensive exit poll and vote-counting results from every state, county and demographic across America through its US-partner network NBC.
You can find out more about Sky News’ coverage here.
US
Elon Musk can keep giving away $1m to voters, judge rules – as lawyer admits winners aren’t chosen randomly
Elon Musk can keep giving away $1m to voters in battleground states, a judge has ruled – as a lawyer admitted the winners aren’t chosen randomly.
Musk – a supporter of Republican candidate Donald Trump – launched the giveaways last month via America PAC, his political action committee (PAC).
He has already handed out $16m in the scheme, which is open to registered voters in seven key battleground states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – who sign a petition pledging to support free speech and gun rights.
On Monday, Pennsylvania Judge Angelo Foglietta ruled the giveaways could carry on, rejecting a district attorney’s request that he shut it down because it allegedly violated state election law.
US election latest: Harris team reveals when it expects results
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Elon Musk hands out $1m cheques
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, said it was “a political marketing masquerading as a lottery”, adding “That’s what it is. A grift.”
Judge Foglietta did not explain his ruling on the matter but Chris Gober, a lawyer for America PAC, had argued the winners are not chosen by chance and are instead hand-picked based on who would be the best spokespeople for the group – despite Musk’s assertion that they would be chosen randomly.
Mr Gober said the final two winners before Tuesday’s presidential election will be in Arizona on Monday and Michigan on Tuesday.
He said the recipients “are not chosen by chance”, adding: “We know exactly who will be announced as the recipient today and tomorrow.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Musk: Mark Stone’s deep dive
America PAC director Chris Young said recipients are vetted ahead of time to “feel out their personality, (and) make sure they were someone whose values aligned” with the group.
In closing arguments, Musk’s legal team said it was “core political speech” as anyone taking part had to sign a petition endorsing the US Constitution.
Given there will be no more Pennsylvania winners before the programme ends, Musk’s lawyers said any legal bid to stop it under Pennsylvania law was irrelevant.
Launching the plan in the state on 19 October, Musk said they would be “awarding a million dollars randomly to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election.”
Read more:
The celebrities backing Trump or Harris
What happens if there’s a tie in the US election?
Harris and Trump’s final rallies before vote
The following day, he said in a social media post shown in court that anyone signing the petition had “a daily chance of winning one million dollars!”
Musk did not attend the hearing.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway