Posing for pictures with campaign literature, the Kamala Harris campaigner proudly tweeted that she was doing ‘my bit to stop Trump winning’.
In a post less than a month ago she showed how she was trying to help the Democrats win the swing state of New Hampshire on November 5.
But this campaigner in the small town of Salem was no idealistic young American. This was a post by Ruth Cadbury, the 65-year-old Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth since 2015.
Ms Cadbury was among the cohort of Keir Starmer‘s politicians, aides and other party members who have headed to the United States to help the Democrats, their unofficial sister party.
The Transport Committee chairwoman travelled to the US at the end of September, after the Labour Party Conference but before the Commons returned.
Others had already been to the US as part of a delegation to the Democrat National Convention in August.
Mr Trump, the Republican candidate, this week accused Labour of ‘blatant foreign interference’ in the upcoming vote, following a call for 100 current and former party staffers to volunteer for his rival Kamala Harris in battleground states.
The Transport Committee chairwoman travelled to the US at the end of September, after the Labour Party Conference but before the Commons returned.
Among the others who travelled was Mike Tapp, the new MP for Dover and Deal in Kent.
Mr Trump , the Republican candidate, this week accused Labour of ‘blatant foreign interference’ in the upcoming vote, following a call for 100 current and former party staffers to volunteer for his rival Kamala Harris in battleground states .
A complaint made by his campaign to the US Federal Election Commission also cited a visit by the PM’s now chief of staff Morgan McSweeney
There is no suggestion that Ms Cadbury has broken any rules or laws.
It is not illegal for foreign nationals to serve as campaign volunteers in US elections, but only if they are not compensated in any way. However, Mr Trump accused the Labour Party of making ‘illegal’ foreign contributions.
A complaint made by his campaign to the US Federal Election Commission also cited a visit by the PM’s now chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and his director of communications Matthew Doyle to the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
Mr McSweeney, who was then the Prime Minister’s political strategist, attended the event in Chicago in August, with, it emerged yesterday, the central party picking up the tab.
Labour denied that he advised the campaign team of Ms Harris, the Democratic nominee, which would potentially have been illegal under US electoral law.
But that was contradicted by remarks from Dover MP Mike Tapp.
He was part of the senior Labour entourage who went to the DNC in Chicago, which his £3,000 bill covered by the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) think tank. It also paid for the Labour director of communications Matthew Doyle to attend.
Mr Tapp told the Telegraph after his trip that he had met several members of Kamala Harris’s team during what he called a ‘political holiday’ on X. It was his second trip of the year, having previously visited the campaign in January.
He told the paper: ‘We went back out after our landslide victory to impart some of our knowledge as to what we learnt on the campaign trail, and to look at what they’re doing with their campaign.
Mr Tapp told the Telegraph after his trip that he had met several members of Kamala Harris’s team during what he called a ‘political holiday’ on X. It was his second trip of the year, having previously visited the campaign in January.
‘One of the big messages that I was taking over there was to ensure that with their campaign, they do what we did, and that is, listen to what working class, hard-working people want.
‘Don’t ignore them. And for me in Dover and Deal, a perfect example of that is worries and concerns around immigration.
‘These people have valid concerns. They’re not racist, we must drop that sort of rhetoric and deal with these issues, just like Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper are doing.
‘And it does look like Kamala and her team are going down that route as well, which is great.’
In their complaint, Mr Trump’s legal team cited a now deleted LinkedIn post by Sofia Patel, Labour’s head of operations, which said: ‘I have ten spots available for anyone available to head to the battleground state of North Carolina – we will sort your housing.’
This raised questions because sorting housing could be viewed as compensating campaign volunteers if Labour covered the costs.
Mr Farage also faced questions over his own efforts to help Mr Trump. The Clacton MP raised eyebrows by travelling to attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July straight after the State Opening of Parliament in London.
John Lamont, the shadow Scottish secretary, said: ‘It’s a diplomatic car crash by this Labour Government.
‘If Donald Trump were to win the election in a few weeks, how on earth is the Prime Minister going to rebuild that relationship with one of the most important countries in the world?’
Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: ‘This is a – politically – very, very, stupid thing to have done.’
However, Mr Farage also faced questions over his own efforts to help Mr Trump. The Clacton MP raised eyebrows by travelling to attend the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July straight after the State Opening of Parliament in London.
The Milwaukee event was staged nearly 4,000 miles from Mr Farage’s seaside constituency in Essex. But he said he was attending in order to ‘show support’ for Mr Trump following an alleged assassination attempt.
Quizzed about whether he was neglecting his commitment to Clacton by heading across the Atlantic, he replied: ‘I’m allowed to come to America on a trip like this, particularly in these circumstances.
‘I had planned to come originally to America and be here for a few months. But I made a decision, ‘no, I’m going to run for Clacton’.
‘Given the circumstances, it was right that I came.’
The almost £33,000 tab for the trip for Mr Farage and an aide, was paid for by a private donor, Christopher Harborne, a tech investor based in Thailand, according to the register of MPs financial interests. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing.
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