Trump vs UK Labour: A row that could be the first of many

When the Labour Party's head of operations, Sofia Patel, was posting on her LinkedIn profile, notifying followers that she had places available to go and campaign for US Presidential hopeful Kamala Harris, she hardly could have imagined the controversy she was about to ignite.

The now deleted social media post read: "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."

The post led to the Trump campaign complaining to the Federal Election Commission, accusing the UK Labour party of engaging in election interference.

Under US election rules, foreign nationals cannot financially contribute to a candidate. Trump's campaign argued that the post and an email, also sent by Ms Patel, suggested that the Labour Party was financing the trip.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted that Labour Party staff members were travelling to America at their own expense and during their time off.

"They're doing it in their spare time. They’re doing it as volunteers. They’re staying I think with other volunteers over there," he said.

The Trump campaign also took issue with the attendance of Downing Street chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and director of communications, Matthew Doyle, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In its complaint, the Trump-Vance campaign suggested that the men were there to advise Kamala Harris' campaign.

Labour confirmed that it paid for Morgan McSweeney to go to the DNC, but insisted that he was not there to advise. Mr Doyle's expenses were paid by a think-tank, the party said.

The controversy consumed a large chunk of the news agenda in the UK, while attracting little attention in the US.

Some described it as a storm in a teacup rather than anything majorly consequential. People also wondered if Donald Trump himself was even aware that a complaint had been filed.

Whether he was or not, it was perhaps a reminder of the way Donald Trump and his inner circle do business.

Should he return to office, the Labour government may have to endure further public spats, just as the Conservative government did previously.

Not a serious attempt to interfere

When Mr Trump was first elected President of the United States, Kim Darroch was the UK's Ambassador in Washington.

He would resign three years later however, after private diplomatic cables to Theresa May's government were leaked to the media. In the private memos he had described Mr Trump's administration as "dysfunctional", "inept" and "divided".

Mr Darroch was ambassador during numerous tense moments between the then Conservative government and Donald Trump. One of the first was when Theresa May criticised Donald Trump for retweeting videos from a British far-right group.

Back then, the President responded with another controversial tweet: "Don't focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom".

Asked about the row between Trump and the new Labour government this week, Kim Darroch said that in his view the allegation from the Trump campaign that the UK Labour party engaged in election interference is "not serious".

According to Mr Darroch, a few dozen Labour Party volunteers knocking on doors in battleground states wasn’t going to make a "discernible difference". He said that it "bore no comparison with Russian interference, as chronicled in the CIA Report, in the 2016 election".

In relation to the social media post by the Labour party official, he described it as "carelessly and misleadingly drafted".

However, he also said that the reality was that those who went to the US would be volunteers, paying for themselves, and would be "sleeping on floors".

What was striking to Mr Darroch was the Trump campaign's "apparent indifference" to the impact of the story on future relations with the British Labour government.

He pointed out that the reference in the campaign statement to "the far-left Labour Party" was "at odds with the friendly tone of statements after the Trump/Starmer meeting and would encourage expectations of a difficult future relationship".

Nothing new

British politicians have always travelled to the US to lend their support to politicians. Traditionally, Labour has given its backing to the Democratic Party while Conservatives often back the Republicans.

The now Foreign Secretary David Lammy campaigned for Barack Obama back in 2008.

More recently, former Prime Minister Liz Truss travelled to the Republican Convention to support Donald Trump.

Nigel Farage, leader of Reform, has previously addressed Trump rallies and describes himself as a "friend" of the former president.

Speaking to Times Radio this week, Mr Farage was asked if he believed Donald Trump would "forgive" the Labour Party.

"He is a forgiving man, but he takes a little bit of time," he responded.

The past few days have served as a reminder of the diplomatic tight rope that previous British governments have had to walk with Donald Trump in the past.

It was perhaps an indication too of what could be yet to come, should he be returned to the White House.