Latest polling data just delivered another blow to Starmer as Labour wades into US election

Donald Trump's 2024 campaign has filed a complaint and accused Labour of "blatant foreign interference" in the US election

Getty/PA
Hannah Ross

By Hannah Ross


Published: 24/10/2024

- 13:42

A new YouGov poll found Britons do not support Labour sending up to 100 staff to the US to campaign for Harris

The Labour Party has faced scrutiny this week after it was revealed that up to 100 staff members were being sent to support Kamala Harris' election campaign.

Activists from Keir Starmer’s party have volunteered to spend the next two-and-a-half weeks campaigning for Harris in four key battleground states ahead of the US election on November 5.


A new YouGov poll has found Britons tend to believe it is unacceptable for Labour officials to get involved in the US election.

The poll found 45 per cent of those surveyed thought it was either “completely” or “somewhat” unacceptable while 33 per cent thought the opposite.

YouGov poll results asking if it was acceptable for Labour to send officials to campaign for Kamala Harris

A YouGov poll found 45 per cent of those surveyed thought it was unacceptable to send Labour officials to the US

YouGov

The pollsters asked 6011 GB adults: “Is it acceptable or unacceptable for Labour party officials to work for Kamala Harris’s presidential election campaign in the USA in their own free time?”

The Labour activists will need to pay for their own flights and car hire but have been told that Democratic volunteers will provide their accommodation.

Party staff that are attending are also expected to book annual leave for the duration of their trip.

The poll results differed by political party with Conservative and Reform UK voters more likely to believe it was unacceptable.

Some 77 per cent of Reform voters thought it was unacceptable for Labour voters to travel to the states, alongside 65 per cent of Tories.

Meanwhile, only 31 per cent of Labour voters and 34 per cent of Lib Dems felt the same way.

By age, younger people are the most accepting of the Labour Party sending officials to campaign for the Democrats, with 41 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds saying it is acceptable while 26 per cent say it is not.

However, amongst those aged over 65, 59 per cent are disapproving while only 26 per cent are acceptive.

The Labour Party has faced backlash from Tory and Reform MPs as well as an official federal complaint from Donald Trump’s campaign.

The former president’s team accused the Labour Party of making “illegal foreign campaign contributions and interference in our elections.”

In a statement announcing the complaint, the Trump campaign branded Labour as “far-Left” and inspiring Kamala’s “dangerously liberal policies and rhetoric”.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has denied the row would damage the UK’s relationship with Trump describing them as having established a “good relationship”.

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