As the nail-biting US presidential race enters its final weeks, an unexpected group is causing a stir on the campaign trail: volunteers from the UK’s Labour party. A LinkedIn post by Labour’s head of operations, Sofia Patel, revealed that nearly 100 current and former party staffers are heading stateside to lend their support to Democratic candidates in key battleground states like North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
While Patel’s call for volunteers might seem innocuous, it quickly caught the attention of President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign. In a heated political climate where every potential advantage is fiercely contested, the Trump team filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, alleging “blatant foreign interference” and highlighting the offer of housing for British volunteers as evidence of prohibited compensation.
Transatlantic Political Ties
The practice of campaign volunteers crossing the pond to support their ideological allies is not a new phenomenon. Labour supporters have been making the trek to assist Democratic candidates for decades, driven by a sense of shared values and the desire to be part of a historic moment.
Labour people, staffers and others, have been going over to volunteer for the Dems – which is our sister party after all – as long as I have been involved with Labour.
– Lord Wood of Anfield, former advisor to PM Gordon Brown
This spirit of cooperation reached its zenith during the “third way” era of Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, when like-minded think tanks facilitated connections between the two parties. But such exchanges are not limited to one end of the political spectrum. In 2015, a group of Young Republicans ventured to the UK to campaign for Conservative candidates in marginal seats.
Allegations of Foreign Meddling
Despite the long history of cross-border campaigning, the Trump campaign was quick to seize on the issue, with deputy general counsel Stefan Passantino evoking the American Revolution in his complaint: “When representatives of the British government previously sought to go door-to-door in America, it did not end well for them.” The campaign also pointed to the attendance of senior Labour figures at the Democratic convention as further evidence of improper influence.
In response, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer categorically denied any meddling, stressing that the Labour volunteers were acting in their spare time and paying their own way. “The Labour party has volunteers, [they] have gone over pretty much every election,” he explained. “They’re doing it in their spare time. They’re doing it as volunteers.”
Walking the Line
Federal Election Commission rules permit foreign nationals to volunteer for US campaigns as long as they are not compensated. While the Trump campaign argues that the promise of housing constitutes a form of payment, there is no indication that the Labour volunteers are receiving anything beyond what is routinely offered to American campaign workers.
This is not the first time that foreign volunteers have found themselves in the crosshairs of US election law. In 2018, Bernie Sanders’ campaign paid a $14,500 fine after the FEC ruled that Australian Labor party volunteers had received stipends and free flights, amounting to an illegal foreign contribution. No such evidence has emerged in the current case.
An Unusual Election in Unusual Times
As the Trump campaign seeks to portray the Labour volunteers as evidence of an international conspiracy to undermine the president’s reelection bid, cooler heads argue that this is simply politics as usual in an unusually heated campaign.
This is in the middle of an election campaign, that’s the way that politics works.
– John Healey, UK Defence Secretary
With the outcome of the election still very much in doubt, both sides are grasping for any advantage they can find. For a small group of Labour activists, that means pounding the pavement in pursuit of a shared dream, even as their presence becomes fodder for a very different American political narrative.
As the battle for the White House reaches its climax, the controversy over the British volunteers is a reminder of the high stakes and intense passions at play. In an election where every vote counts, even a few dozen foreign campaigners can be seen as a threat – or a sign of solidarity, depending on one’s perspective. Regardless of the outcome in November, the dedication of these transatlantic activists is a testament to the enduring power of political ideals to inspire action across borders and oceans.
