Ed Balls attacked his own party yesterday for trying to interfere in the US election and sparking a row with Donald Trump.
The Labour heavyweight said that party members past and present were canvassing for Kamala Harris was ‘naive and gauche’ and that ‘an alarm bell’ should have been ringing in Downing Street to stamp it out.
Mr Trump this week accused ‘far-left’ Labour of ‘blatant foreign interference’ in the upcoming vote on November 5, following a call for 100 current and former party staffers to volunteer for his Democratic rival in battleground states.
Speaking on the Political Currency podcast, Mr Balls, who is married to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, said: ‘It’s naive and gauche. These kinds of visits have been happening for decades but this is a different election.
‘You would think people would have known from [the previous US election in] 2020 how delicate this is.’
Ed Balls attacked his own party yesterday for trying to interfere in the US election and sparking a row with Donald Trump
Donald Trump this week accused ‘far-left’ Labour of ‘blatant foreign interference’ in the upcoming US presidential election
Labour MPs, including Ruth Cadbury, have, however, already been pictured campaigning state-side for Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris in a bid to help her win
The former Cabinet Minister in Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s governments added: ‘When you start organising a sort of a posse of campaigners as a foreign party, now a foreign government, an alarm bell should have rung, and there will be people kicking themselves, thinking ‘I saw that and I didn’t do anything.’
‘If you’re in Opposition for years, you get used to the idea that nobody cares that much what you do, and when you’re in government, suddenly it changes overnight.
‘They won’t make this mistake again, but it’s definitely a mistake, and somebody should have spotted it earlier.’
Democrat officials have now cancelled planned canvassing campaigns with Labour activists, believing the row had become ‘toxic’ and potentially too damaging, Politico reported.
Several Labour councillors, party staffers and assistants to MPs had been planning to travel to the US and campaign as volunteers for the Harris campaign.
But party sources said many were now cancelling due to the row.
Labour MPs, including Ruth Cadbury, have, however, already been pictured campaigning state-side for Ms Harris in a bid to help her win.
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.
As a result, Donald Trump accused the Labour Party of making ‘illegal’ foreign contributions
The Transport Committee chairwoman travelled to the US at the end of September, after the Labour Party Conference but before the Commons returned
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 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.
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.
The Tories’ Shadow Leader of the Commons, Chris Philp, yesterday called for a debate on foreign interference in elections.
He argued that if Labour was ‘organising interference or campaigning in another country’s election’ it could damage the UK’s relationship with America if Mr Trump wins the election.
During business questions, he said: ‘I understand that over 100 Labour Party staffers are enjoying themselves in the United States currently, in the presidential election under way now.
‘Ministers have claimed this is all spontaneous, all organised themselves, all paid for themselves as well, but that claim appears – if I can put it politely – grossly implausible now it’s emerged in a now-deleted social media tweet or post, that the whole thing was arranged by the Labour Party’s director of operations.’
He added: ‘Does the Leader agree that it is actually damaging to our national interest?’
But his Labour counterpart, Lucy Powell, hit back, saying: ‘Campaigning abroad happens in every election, and people do this in a personal capacity, as well he knows.’
She added: ‘It is for the American people to decide who their next president is, and this Government is committed and determined to work with whoever wins that election.’
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.