Labour Party Accused of Meddling in the 2024 US Election — so why are we still talking about Elon?

“Foreign interference” is not a new term when referring to a US election (shoutout Cambridge Analytica and Russia) — but we usually hear about it benefiting the Republican Party, rarely the other way around. But last week, the Trump Campaign filed an official complaint to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) against Keir Starmer’s Labour Party for “blatant foreign interference”. Although highly ironic and an on-brand lack of self-awareness, has Trump got a point?

Started by a LinkedIn post published by the Head of Operations at The Labour Party, Sofia Patel, has this spiralled out of control? The post (now deleted) outlined a trip of “nearly 100 Labour Party staff (current and former)” going to North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Virginia (key battleground states discussed in my previous post), and stated there were ten spaces left for anyone who was wanting to help out in North Carolina. And if it wasn’t already obvious from the source of the complaint, this trip aimed to boost support for the Harris-Walz campaign. This trip was not organised or funded by the Labour Party. It is an activist’s volunteering trip — which is legal and harmless. According to FEC rules, “foreign nationals are permitted to serve as campaign volunteers as long as they are not compensated”.

Labour’s official statement read: “It is common practice for campaigners of all political persuasions from around the world to volunteer in US elections. Where Labour activists take part, they do so at their own expense, in accordance with the laws and rules”. Keir Starmer and, Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner have dismissed this claim publicly. Case closed, we think?

Cause for concern from the LinkedIn post was derived from the offer of housing. It turns a harmless post into a potential grey area for the Labour Party. However, it is common for activist’s from the Democratic Party to offer a spare-room or bed to activists with a common goal wanting to come across the pond. Just as it is common for these activists to go and support a political belief of theirs, in all areas of the world. These volunteers, although associated with the Labour Party, are doing this off their own backs and without the backing of their affiliated party. Harmless.

But that’s the potential issue for Starmer: affiliation. Whether Labour Party backed or not, these volunteers supporting the Harris-Walz campaign are affiliated with the Labour Party (past or present). Does this mean Starmer does not have control of his Labour Party members? Is this still growing pains for Starmer’s run as Prime Minister? The stand-out point remains, however, that these volunteers are not acting for Starmer’s agenda, and have their own agency in this context, meaning Keir cannot determine their actions. Using rationale, this problem should not progress past its dismissal of foreign interference, but many question that if Trump were to win the White House, would this impact US-UK relations?

Starmer seems to have control over the relationship, describing it as “special” and declaring a commitment to work with whoever gains the White House. Starmer even met Trump for the first time in September, where they sat down for a a two-hour dinner in New York. Starmer stated that it had established a relationship between the two. Hopefully this little dinner-date will be enough to soothe the former President’s little tantrum, with his complaint being describe as “hyperbole”, “theatrical”, and “desperate”. Starmer has not met with Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris yet— probably much to his relief in this case.

In an ironic turn of events, Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK Party and active MP, posted his dismay about the situation on X, determining it as a “direct election interference”. He must have forgotten his many appearances at Trump rally’s and profound public support for the Republican Party. But another, more concerning, public figure has also condemned this. Yes, we are still talking about Elon Musk.

Musk simply tweeted, “This is illegal”, in response to Patel’s LinkedIn post — but it is suggested that his connection to the Labour Party runs deeper. Musk has his own problems with the Labour Party. Musk has accused the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) of “violating US criminal statutes against foreign interference in elections”. CCDH is founded by Starmer’s Chief of Staff, Morgan McSweeney. This attack was off the back of the discovery of a strategy plan to “Kill Musk’s Twitter”, and so Musk vowed to go after the CCDH and their donors. The X CEO announced this just hours after Trump’s complaint — sparking what some are calling a “phoney war” and “double attack”.

This could be dismissed as pure coincidence — if Musk was not one of the Trump campaign’s top donors. Musk’s AmericaPAC has donated $75 million to the former President’s election bid (see more about this in my previous post). Therefore, this double-attack at Labour comes as no coincidence, and no surprise. It begs the question, who is in charge here? Is Trump commanding Musk to go after Starmer alongside him? Or — more likely — is Elon Musk pulling the strings of MAGA from behind the scenes? Are Musk’s “dark MAGA” claims more than just wearing a black cap, and maybe he means this literally through acting behind the scenes, in the shadows. Did Musk want to go after Labour for their links to threatening his platform, X, and so made sure his new buddy Trump did the same? Every possibility must be considered in an election where nothing is certain. But if this is true, Musk’s growing power should be discussed in greater detail, and there is a need to bring his “dark MAGA” sentiments into the spotlight.

Thank you for reading my blog. Finally — UK politics combined with the US 2024 Election in an interesting and discussion-worthy way! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. See you soon.