THE tech billionaire Elon Musk has accused the Labour Party of breaking US election law.
The Twitter/X owner took issue with a LinkedIn post published by Labour's head of operations Sofia Patel.
The post stated that the Labour Party would be pay for accommodation for any campaigners willing to fly over from the UK to campaign for Kamala Harris in the upcoming US election, where she faces former president Donald Trump.
"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.
This is illegal https://t.co/EHuKfyMcnj
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 17, 2024
"I have 10 spots available for anyone available to head to the battleground state of North Carolina — we will sort your housing."
The post, which has since been deleted, was shared by many pro-Trump accounts on X/Twitter, including Musk who said: "This is illegal".
It was also shared by far-right Republican politician Marjorie Taylor Greene, who claimed that Labour were breaking Federal Election Commission laws.
"Foreign nationals are not allowed to be involved in anyway in U.S. elections," she said.
"Please go back to the UK and fix your own mass immigration problems".
This is direct election interference by the governing Labour Party, and particularly stupid if Trump wins. Who is paying for all of this? pic.twitter.com/uSV5KTz88V
— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) October 18, 2024
The Federal Election Commission told The National that it would not speculate on the legality of specific activity.
Foreign national are permitted to campaign in US elections yet federal law prohibits "contributions, donations, expenditures(including independent expenditures) and disbursements solicited, directed, received or made directly or indirectly by or from foreign nationals".
Nigel Farage, who previously gave a speech at a Trump campaign rally in 2020, also claimed the Labour Party's actions were "direct election interference".
When asked about the furore, Labour MP Alison McGovern told Sky News:
"As far as I know, this is a voluntary thing and it's about volunteers going and sharing their time.
"This is a normal thing that happens in elections."
The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton is also set to travel to the US to campaign for Kamala Harris.
