Jack Walters
Guest Reporter
Labour Party staff have jetted off to US swing states to campaign for Kamala Harris just weeks after Sir Keir Starmer met with Donald Trump in New York.
Around 100 former and current Labour employees answered calls to shore up support for the Vice President as Americans prepare to head to the polls on November 5.
Confirmation of a Labour campaign push raises doubts about the Prime Minister’s previously neutral stance on the 2024 US Presidential Election.
In a post calling for more volunteers, a senior Labour Party figure said: “I have nearly 100 Labour Party staff (current and former) going to the US in the next few weeks heading to North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
“I have 10 spots available for anyone available to head to the battleground state of North Carolina - we will sort your housing.”
GB News understands individuals pay for the trips in a personal capacity and in their own time.
While Labour does not pay for the trips, accommodation is being arranged by volunteers campaigning for the Democrats.
However, many will wonder why Labour staffers have been given clearance to jet off to the other side of the Atlantic ahead of Rachel Reeves’ maiden Budget.
The Chancellor, who is expected to bring in a set of tax rises, is already under fire for axing Winter Fuel Payments for around 10 million pensioners.
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Senior Labour figures have already been stateside ahead of November 5 to advise Democrat strategists on how to run an effective campaign.
Ex-Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth met with Harris' closest allies in Chicago in August.
Speaking about the latest set of Labour staffers heading to the US, Ashworth told GB News: "There are long-standing and deep links between the Labour Party and Democrats. Progressive parties the world over share campaign learnings in elections.
"Just as there are historic links between the Conservatives and Republicans. But our Labour Prime Minister has been steadfast in saying he will work with whoever the American people put in the White House.
"Keir Starmer is driven by country first, party second and the special relationship will always be secure."
The Prime Minister met with the ex-President last month for a two-hour dinner in New York.
The pair, who were joined by Britain's Trump-critical Foreign Secretary David Lammy, looked to establish a relationship between the two countries ahead of November 5.
A UK Government source said Trump and Starmer had "discussed the longstanding friendship between the UK and the US and the importance of continuing to develop the strong and enduring partnership between our two countries".
Speaking ahead of their meeting, Trump said of the Prime Minister: "I actually think he’s very nice. He ran a great race, he did very well, it’s very early, he’s very popular."
However, Lammy had previously called the former President a "racist" and a "neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath".
Pastor Mark Burns, who is a close ally of Trump, also appeared to voice his concerns about Labour staffers campaigning for Harris.
He told GB News: "Kamala is struggling to win American votes, so she's now scraping the bottom of the barrel by having foreigners tell Americans how to vote."
Burns added: "The Labour Party desires a weaker America that pays for everything and leads from behind. That's why they support Kamala. I'm grateful that there are a lot of good British citizens who don't support the Labour Party and don't support this position."
Despite the Tory Party being split on the Trump versus Harris debate, ex-Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland also went campaigning for the Democrats.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was forced to suspend initial plans to campaign for Trump after deciding to contest Clacton in the 2024 General Election.
Speaking after his victory in the Essex seaside seat, Farage said: "Clearly my priority has to be Clacton, has to be my job in Parliament and the party that I lead nationally, so I will not be there a huge amount."
The four states earmarked by the senior Labour insider also paint a mixed picture of how Harris is faring ahead of November 5.
North Carolina voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 but is expected to go down to the wire this time around.
Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia all voted for Joe Biden four years ago.
However, Trump picked up Pennsylvania in 2016 and is increasingly optimistic about flipping Nevada in his so-called Sun Belt offensive.
Recent opinion polls give Harris a nationwide advantage of around two per cent.
But JL Partners’ latest swing state surveys give Trump a clear path to the White House, with leads in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
The Rust Belt states of Michigan and Wisconsin remain tossups ahead of November 5.
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