Angela Rayner has said that Labour staff campaigning in the United States do so “in their own time”, after Donald Trump’s campaign accused Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party of interfering in the US election.
Filing a complaint with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) which accuses Labour of illegal foreign campaign donations, the campaign’s co-manager Susie Wiles claimed: “The far-left Labour Party has inspired Kamala’s dangerously liberal policies and rhetoric.
“In recent weeks, they have recruited and sent party members to campaign for Kamala in critical battleground states, attempting to influence our election.”
The claims follow reports of senior Labour officials meeting with Kamala Harris’ campaign, and Labour Party staffers volunteering on the ground for her campaign.
Asked about the row as she deputised for the prime minister at PMQs on Wednesday, Ms Rayner said: “People in their own time often go and campaign. And that is what we have seen. It happens in all political parties.”
She added: “People go and campaign, and do what they want to do in their own time with their own money.”
Key Points
- Angela Rayner says Labour staff volunteering in US election do so ‘in their own time’
- Trump campaign accuses ‘far-left’ Labour Party of interfering in US election
- Read full complaint over Labour’s ‘foreign interference’
- Cabinet minister says not unusual for Trump to use ‘colourful language'
Keir Starmer scores first major Brexit reset success with landmark defence deal
16:07 , Andy GregorySir Keir Starmer has scored the first major breakthrough in his great Brexit reset with a landmark new defence deal with Germany.
Less than four months into his premiership, the prime minister has struck an agreement with the most influential and powerful member state in the European Union.
Under the plans, German aircraft in the Luftwaffe, Germany’s air force, will operate from a base in Britain to help protect the North Atlantic from the growing threat from Russia, while around 400 jobs are set to be created in a new munitions factory in the UK.
But the prime minister was urged to go further in strengthening the UK’s relationship with the EU and seize other areas of cooperation.
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Keir Starmer scores first major Brexit reset success with landmark defence deal
Elon Musk declares war on Labour-linked campaign group
15:38 , Andy GregoryElon Musk has declared war on a campaign group founded by Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, accusing the Center for Countering Digital Hate of violating rules “against foreign interference in elections”.
The tech billionaire his team were “going after CCDH and their donors” after a report from the Disinformation Chronicle newsletter, which claimed to have uncovered a strategy document from the group which included a plan to “Kill Musk’s Twitter”.
The report also claims the CCDH sought out meetings with Democratic senators in an attempt to lobby against Mr Musk’s ownership of X.
The CCDH was founded by Morgan McSweeney, who was appointed as Sir Keir’s chief of staff after Sue Gray stepped down earlier this month, however he has not been involved since 2020.
Households face drinking water shortage by the mid-2030s, minister warns
15:10 , Andy GregoryThe UK risks suffering a shortage of drinking water by the mid-2030s, a Labour cabinet minister has warned.
Environment secretary Steve Reed said without investment in the country’s creaking infrastructure, the system could run into crisis.
His warning came as it emerged that water companies want to raise bills by 84 per cent by 2030. Mr Reed described the proposed price hikes as “eye-watering” - but said the issue was not one for ministers.
He told LBC Radio: “We’re all facing a shortage of water within a decade and a half if we don’t act now.”
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Households face drinking water shortage by the mid-2030s, minister warns
Watch: Oliver Dowden asks Angela Rayner for her definition of working class
14:50 , Andy GregoryCleverly asks for armed police to be able to use training in trial defences
14:35 , Andy GregoryTory MP James Cleverly has argued that firearms officers should be able to use their training in the role as part of their defence in criminal proceedings.
In the Commons, the shadow home secretary said he “agreed with almost all” of the proposals put forward by the government, adding: “As a society, we demand that our firearms officers put themselves in dangerous and difficult situations to protect others. Every firearms officer in the UK is a volunteer.”
“I have seen first hand just how rigorous that firearms training regime is, not just in marksmanship, but also in the use of judgement, split-second life or death decisions have to be made, often in circumstances where the risk picture is incomplete, and often in circumstances where the cost of not acting is considerably more severe than the cost of acting,” he said.
He added: “I would ask [Ms Cooper] to seriously consider that training in these roles forms a legitimate part of the defence of officers, if and when criminal prosecutions are brought forward.”
Labour peer at centre of Starmer donations scandal found to have breached Lords rules
14:20 , Andy GregoryLabour peer Waheed Alli has been found to have committed four breaches of Lords rules over his declarations in the register of interests.
The prominent donor, who gave thousands of pounds worth of clothes and gifts to Sir Keir Starmer and his wife, has apologised after being instructed to by the Lords commissioner for standards.
Lord Alli faced an investigation over his alleged failure to register his interests as a director of charity The Charlie Parsons Foundation and the company Silvergate BP Bidco, of which he owns more than half.
Lords standards commissioner Martin Jelley also investigated Lord Alli’s late registration of his interest as an unpaid director of another company, MAC (BVI).
“While I consider each individual breach of the Code to be minor, I have found there to be four breaches in total, and have therefore recommended that Lord Alli write a letter of apology to the chair of the conduct committee, Baroness Manningham-Buller,” a report by Mr Jelley said.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has more in this report:
Labour peer at centre of Starmer donations scandal found to have breached Lords rules
Labour to introduce presumption of dismissal for police officers who commit certain offences
14:15 , Andy GregoryPolice officers found guilty of particular criminal offences will be automatically found to have committed gross misconduct and have a “presumption of dismissal”, the home secretary has said.
Yvette Cooper told the Commons: “We will therefore take forward in this parliamentary session, from previously agreed proposals, to ensure that officers convicted of certain criminal offences are automatically found to have committed gross misconduct and create a presumption of dismissal.
“Where gross misconduct is found we will change regulations to enable chief constables to promptly dismiss officers who fail their vetting, which has been a glaring gap in the system for too long.”
She added that officers will be suspended if they are under investigation for domestic abuse or sexual offences.
Ms Cooper said: “We will ensure statutory underpinning for national vetting standards and strengthen requirements relating to the suspension of officers under investigation for domestic abuse or sexual offences.”
Home secretary unveils plans for presumption of anonymity for armed police in criminal trials
14:01 , Andy GregoryHome secretary Yvette Cooper has unveiled a “presumption of anonymity for firearms officers subject to criminal trial”.
Sergeant Martyn Blake was cleared of murder this week after the death of Chris Kaba in Lambeth in 2022.
Ms Cooper told the Commons: “When officers act in the most dangerous situations on behalf of the state it is vital that those officers and their families are not put in further danger during any subsequent legal proceedings.
“So we will therefore introduce a presumption of anonymity for firearms officers subject to criminal trial following a police shooting in the course of their professional duties, up to the point of conviction.”
UK’s special relationship with US will always endure, No 10 says
13:42 , Andy GregoryThe UK’s special relationship with the US has endured with “leaders of all political stripes” and always will, the Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson has said after Donald Trump’s presidential campaign claimed the Labour Party was interfering in the US election.
“We’ve always been steadfast allies and we will work with whoever the American people choose to be their president,” the spokesperson said.
She referred to Sir Keir Starmer’s meeting with Mr Trump in September and said they discussed the importance of continuing to develop the “strong and enduring partnership” between the US and UK.
“It is a special relationship which has endured for over a century with leaders of all political stripes, and that will always be the case.”
Labour pressed to bring in smacking ban
13:26 , Andy GregoryA shadow communities minister has pressed Angela Rayner for legislation banning smacking so children can “enjoy unambiguous protection in law against violence”.
Conservative MP David Simmonds told the Commons: “Our child protection services have had to deal with a number of cases where parents and carers have argued that their fatal actions were lawful punishment.
“So I’d like to ask the deputy prime minister, will she bring forward legislation bringing the rest of our country into line with Scotland and Wales so that all children enjoy unambiguous protection in law against violence?”
Angela Rayner replied: “I think it’s a very important point that [Mr Simmonds] raises and I’ll make sure that the minister has a meeting with him, but the first job of any government is to protect the citizens, and that includes our children.
“And we’ll make sure we work across the House to deliver that.”
Watch: Rayner jokes she'd give Dowden peerage after Tory election wipeout
13:11 , Andy GregoryLabour urged to create NHS winter taskforce
12:55 , Andy GregorySpeaking at PMQs, Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper called for the government to set up a winter task force to prepare for an NHS winter crisis and ensure there are enough carers to allow hospital patients to be discharged.
Ms Cooper said: “Will the deputy prime minister consider the Liberal Democrats’ idea of an NHS winter task force to winter-proof our NHS, end this cycle of the winter crisis and put to an end the scandal of hospital patients paying the price of a social care crisis left by the Conservatives?”
Angela Rayner said: “I share with her desire to ensure that care workers are given the respect and the importance that they deserve.
“They are critical, in my opinion, to solving the problems within our National Health Service, and it’s the Labour Party that will create a national care service, and we are launching our first-ever fair pay agreement for care professionals to boost recruitment and retention.
“We must get the NHS back on its feet after the disaster of the Conservatives, and the chancellor will have more to say in the Budget.”
Lib Dems warn against national insurance hike for care firms
12:41 , Andy GregoryLib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper urged the government not to increase national insurance contributions for care firms ahead of the Budget next week, warning that doing so could affect up to 18,000 small care firms and make it harder for people to access care.
Angela Rayner replied: “Well again I won’t speculate on the Budget, not least with the chancellor sat at the side of me.
“But ... I will reiterate what the chancellor has said and what the prime minister has said, this will be a budget that recognises working people of this country and the enterprise in this country has been hard hit by the 14 years of the Conservatives.
“We will rebuild Britain and we will grow our economy to pay for our public services.”
Rayner says Labour staff volunteering in US election do so ‘in their own time'
12:30 , Andy GregoryAsked by the SNP’s Stephen Flynn about the Trump campaign’s complaint against Labour, Angela Rayner told PMQs: “People in their own time often go and campaign. And that is what we have seen. It happens in all political parties.”
She added: “People go and campaign, and do what they want to do in their own time with their own money.”
Dowden and Rayner exchange jokes over final ‘battle of the gingers'
12:27 , Andy GregoryNoting that it will be their final PMQs exchange, Oliver Dowden has asked Angela Rayner to join him in sending the King their best wishes in his visit to Samoa, as he pressed her to confirm that Labour recognises the Commonwealth’s “unique role” and will commit to deepening these ties.
Drawing laughs as she replied: “I will miss our exchanges”, Ms Rayner added: “The battle of the gingers, the late nights voting. And in that spirit, I will agree ... the King does a tremendous job and so did the late Queen.
“The Commonwealth is very important and that’s why the King and the prime minister at the moment are working together.”
Mr Dowden replied that “our Commonwealth family is brought together by historical and cultural ties”, joking: “Indeed, much like the pair of us.”
Dowden asks Rayner whether she agrees with her past remarks on employer NI hike
12:20 , Andy GregoryCiting Angela Rayner’s past remarks that “working people will pay when employers pass on the hike in national insurance”, Oliver Dowden pressed her to answer whether “she will at least agree with herself”.
Ms Rayner replied that she is incredibly proud of the Labour government’s new employment bill, and asked whether Mr Dowden would “like to apologise for the 70-year hike in taxes that he put on working people” and “the crashing of the economy”.
Angela Rayner references Boris Johnson’s ‘f*** business’ comment in PMQs retort
12:17 , Andy GregoryOliver Dowden put to Angela Rayner that the IFS and Rachel Reeves have both said that raising employer national insurance would be a tax on working people.
The deputy PM replied: “I remember the party opposite and what they said to business – what was it? F to business? Whereas this party held an investment international investment summit last week which brought [£63bn] into our economy.
“We’re pro-business, pro-worker and getting on with fixing the mess that they left behind.”
Rayner repeats that it was working people who ‘paid the price of Tories crashing economy'
12:12 , Andy GregoryOliver Dowden challenged Angela Rayner that she cannot define “working people” and asked whether the 5 million small business owners in the UK fit that definition.
The deputy PM replied: “I don’t know how the shadow deputy prime minister can stand there with a straight face when it was the small businesses – working people of this country – that paid the price of them crashing the economy, sending interest rates soaring.”
Mr Dowden claimed that “the whole House will have heard the deputy prime minister disregard five million hardworking small business owners.”
Rayner jibes at Dowden’s reported push for July election
12:09 , Andy GregoryAsked what her definition of “working people” is by Oliver Dowden, Angela Rayner first began with a jibe at her Tory predecessor, telling PMQs: “Today’s our first exchange since he pushed for a July general election.
“If his own side hasn’t offered him a peerage, I certainly would have.”
And she retorts: “The definition of working people are the people that the Tory party have failed for the last 14 years.”
Rayner and Dowden pay tribute to Chris Hoy at opening of PMQs
12:06 , Andy GregoryOliver Dowden has opened PMQs by joining Angela Rayner in paying tribute to Sir Chris Hoy following the Olympian’s cancer diagnosis, saying “he truly is an inspiration to us all”.
Labour activists volunteering in US election ‘do so at their own expense', party says
11:48 , Andy GregoryA Labour Party spokesperson has said it is “common practice” for campaigners “from around the world” to volunteer during US elections and Labour activists “do so at their own expense”.
The spokesperson said: “It is common practice for campaigners of all political persuasions from around the world to volunteer in US elections.
“Where Labour activists take part, they do so at their own expense, in accordance with the laws and rules.”
Angela Rayner faces first PMQs as deputy prime minister
11:45 , Andy GregoryAngela Rayner is facing her first PMQs as deputy prime minister, as Sir Keir Starmer travels to Samoa for a visit with the leaders of Commonwealth nations.
Watch: Environment secretary denies claims Labour are interfering in US elections
11:44 , Andy GregoryWatch: Angela Rayner responds to Trump’s Labour election interference claim
14:18 , Andy GregoryLabour insiders stress that party sends delegation to every Democratic convention
11:28 , Andy GregoryLabour insiders are at pains to stress that the party sends a delegation to every Democratic National Convention, Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby reports, after Donald Trump’s campaign accused Sir Keir Starmer’s party of interfering in the US election.
4/ On the Democratic Convention, Lab insiders at pains to stress Labour sends delegation to Democrat convention every time. Told it ‘simply wrong’ to suggest McSweeney or Doyle were there to advisor assist the Harris campaign in anyway.
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) October 23, 2024
Understand McSweeney’s costs were met by…
Keir Starmer under fire from senior Labour MP over refusal to open talks on reparations
11:04 , Andy GregoryLabour MP and former shadow minister Bell Ribeiro-Addy has warned the “Commonwealth will crumble” if the government does not reopen talks on reparations for the slave trade.
It comes as the prime minister faces growing demands to rethink the UK’s position on the issue as he heads to Samoa for a major Commonwealth meeting.
On Monday, Downing Street rejected demands, saying the issue of reparations is “not on the agenda” for the event and “we won’t be offering an apology”.
But Ms Ribeiro-Addy, a former shadow immigration minister, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme “an apology is absolutely free”, dismissing attempts from both this government and the previous government to focus on the present rather than unpick wrongs of the past.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Starmer under fire from senior Labour MP over refusal to open talks on reparations
Donald Trump’s party has campaigned in UK elections – for the Tories
10:35 , Kate Devlin, Whitehall EditorDonald Trump has claimed the Labour Party is interfering in the US election – after members campaigned for Kamala Harris.
But Donald Trump’s party, the Republicans, has campaigned in the UK – for the Tories.
A group of young US Republican party activists travelled to Britain, on a visit organised by the Young Republican National Federation, to “help our Conservative colleagues win” during the 2015 general election, the Financial Times reported at the time.
Wes Streeting to vote against assisted dying legislation
10:21 , Andy GregoryHealth secretary Wes Streeting is to vote against an assisted dying Bill amid fears around coercion and people feeling a “duty to die”.
The cabinet minister had previously said he was “uncharacteristically undecided” on the issue.
MPs will debate Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on 29 November and an initial vote is expected that day.
Mr Streeting’s decision, first reported by The Times, is understood to have been made amid concerns around people feeling pressured to end their lives.
The news follows justice secretary Shabana Mahmood’s previous declaration to The Times that she will vote against the Bill, saying: “As a Muslim, I have an unshakeable belief in the sanctity and value of human life.”
What has Donald Trump accused Keir Starmer’s Labour of?
09:56 , Andy GregoryDonald Trump’s presidential campaign has launched an extraordinary attack on Keir Starmer’s Labour as party officials are accused of interfering in the upcoming US election.
In its complaint to the FEC, the Trump campaign’s deputy general counsel Gary Lawkowski accuses the Labour Party and the Harris-Walz campaign of “making and accepting illegal foreign national contributions”.
Explaining its position on Mr Trump’s website, a spokesperson wrote: “In recent weeks, [Labour] has recruited and sent party members to campaign for Kamala in critical battleground states, attempting to influence our election.”
The Trump campaign’s complaint raises a few issues. Firstly, they believe that the campaigning efforts of several Labour activists in the US are in breach of the country’s electoral law.
My colleague Albert Toth has this explainer on what the Trump campaign is alleging:
What has Donald Trump accused Starmer’s Labour of? US election complaints explained
Rachel Reeves says she regularly messages Tory predecessor
09:22 , Andy GregoryChancellor Rachel Reeves has said she regularly speaks to Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, and her Tory predecessor.
Ms Reeves told BBC Radio 5: “I speak to Gordon regularly – I also speak to Tony Blair regularly.”
The chancellor added that she regularly messages Jeremy Hunt, with who she has a “good relationship”, saying: “I may not be particularly impressed with the state of the public finances that he left me, but I do recognise that after Kwasi Kwarteng, he had a tough job to do as well.”
Minister said last week that Labour staff campaigning for Democrats was ‘a normal thing’
09:16 , Andy GregoryLast week, Sir Keir Starmer’s employment minister Alison McGovern made reference to Labour Party staff who would be travelling to the US to help elect Ms Harris.
She 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. It is not the first time Labour staff have travelled to the US during presidential elections to campaign for the Democratic nominee.”
Starmer says he established ‘good relationship’ with Trump
09:04 , Andy GregoryPressed about whether Labour officials’ involvement in the Harris-Waltz Democrat campaign could jeopardise his relationship with Mr Trump if the ex-president wins re-election, Sir Keir replied: “No.”
Speaking as he travelled to Samoa for a meeting of Commonwealth leaders added: “I spent time in New York with President Trump, had dinner with him, and my purpose in doing that was to make sure that between the two of us we established a good relationship, which we did, and I was very grateful to him for making the time.”
Video report: Trump campaign files complaint over ‘foreign interference’ by Labour Party
08:51 , Andy GregoryMinister says UK-US ‘special relationship’ will “continue into the future’
08:44 , Andy GregoryAsked if he wanted Donald Trump to win or lose the election, environment secretary Steve Reed told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “[Whoever] the American people elect as their president, the United Kingdom government will work with them very closely.
“We’ve had a special relationship with the US for many decades now and that will continue into the future.”
Starmer dismisses Trump campaign claims of US election interference
08:41 , Andy GregorySir Keir Starmer dismissed the claims of interference in the US election. Asked if it was a mistake for senior staffers to have met with the Harris campaign, he insisted that any members of his party were in the US on an entirely voluntary basis, similar to in previous elections.
“That’s what they’ve done in previous elections, is what they’re doing in this election. And that’s really straightforward,” he told reporters as he travelled to Samoa for a meeting of Commonwealth leaders.
‘None of this was organised by Labour Party’, says cabinet minister
08:33 , Andy GregoryAsked about the Trump campaign’s accusations of interference in the US election, environment secretary Steve Reed told LBC: “It’s up to private individuals to choose how they use their own time and their own money.
“If people want to take holiday and go and campaign in another country that’s up to them. But none of this was organised by the Labour Party itself, it’s just individuals.
“And actually it’s perfectly normal. I’ve seen Americans here campaigning for different parties in our elections as well. It’s not unusual for people supporting a party in one country to then go and campaign for a sister party in another.”
Analysis: Labour has made a diplomatic blunder and forgotten about the responsibilities of government
08:26 , David Maddox, Political EditorThere has been an ongoing joke in PMQs each week that Keir Starmer keeps on forgetting who he is now and calling Rishi Sunak “Prime Minister”.
But a slip of a tongue in parliamentary exchanges is very different to causing an international incident with the man who could shortly be president of Britain’s leading ally.
Essentially, in making a big fuss about sending hundreds of activists to help Kamala Harris in the US election, Labour has been acting as if it is still an opposition party with nothing to lose.
When you are the governing party there are greater consequences to your actions - as the freebies scandal has already proven. Now Starmer is at loggerheads with Donald Trump and if Trump wins that could have an impact on the special relationship for the next four years.
Read Trump campaign’s full complaint over Labour’s ‘foreign interference’ in US election
08:25 , Andy GregoryThe Trump campaign’s six-page legal letter, addressed to the electoral commission’s acting general counsel, was published on the former US president’s website on Tuesday evening along with a statement from a campaign manager.
Both the letter and the website notice make parallels to the American Civil War, with the former president’s team stating “the British are coming!” and warning: “When representatives of the British government previously sought to go door-to-door in America, it did not end well for them.”
The letter also misspells Britain in the second sentence.
Our reporter Athena Stavrou has more details:
Trump campaign’s full complaint over Labour’s ‘foreign interference’ in US election
Cabinet minister suggests Donald Trump is lying over Labour elections interference claim
08:22 , Millie Cooke, Political CorrespondentA Cabinet minister has suggested Donald Trump is lying over his claim that the Labour Party is interfering in the US election, saying it is “certainly not unusual for President Trump to use colourful language”.
The Trump complaint cited a now deleted LinkedIn post from the Labour Party’s head of operations, who wrote that “nearly 100” current and former Labour party staff would be travelling to the US to help elect Ms Harris.
The official posted on social media that she had “10 spots available” for anyone willing to travel to North Carolina to campaign for Kamala Harris, adding “we will sort your housing”.
But environment secretary Steve Reed told Times Radio that some “private individuals are choosing to spend their own money and their free time campaigning in the US during the election”.
He denied that the Labour Party has funded any of the campaigning, as well as denying that the party will organise the volunteers accommodation.
Asked, “Are you saying you haven’t recruited party members and therefore is the President lying?”, Mr Reed responded: “It’s certainly not unusual for President Trump to use colourful language. But as I said, the key point here is that our prime minister will work closely with whoever the American people elect as their President next month.”
Trump campaign accuses Starmer’s Labour of interfering in US election
08:20 , Andy GregoryDonald Trump’s campaign has accused Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party of interfering in the US presidential election.
Filing a complaint with the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) which accuses Labour of illegal foreign campaign donations, the campaign’s co-manager Susie Wiles claimed: “The far-left Labour Party has inspired Kamala’s dangerously liberal policies and rhetoric.
“In recent weeks, they have recruited and sent party members to campaign for Kamala in critical battleground states, attempting to influence our election.”
The Trump campaign complaint cited a Daily Telegraph report that suggested Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, and Matthew Doyle, his director of communications, “attended a convention in Chicago and met with Ms Harris’s campaign team”.
The complaint also cited a now deleted LinkedIn post from Sofia Patel, head of operations at the Labour party, who wrote that “nearly 100” current and former Labour party staff would be travelling to the US to help elect Ms Harris.
Mr Trump’s lawyers argue such support amounts to “contributions” from foreign actors, in violation of US campaign finance laws.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
Trump accuses Labour of foreign interference in US election in remarkable statement
Good morning, we’ll be using this blog to bring you the latest updates on UK politics after Donald Trump’s campaign dramatically accused Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party of interfering in the US election.
Trump campaign’s Labour row ‘part of broader effort to sow distrust in election’
11:52 , Andy GregoryThe Trump campaign’s complaint against Labour is part of a broader effort to sow distrust in the election, an academic has suggested.
David Andersen, associate professor of US politics at Durham University, told the BBC that British volunteers travelling to the US to campaign is “rather commonplace”.
He added that the complaint against Labour is part of a “broader campaign to sow distrust in the election and ward off any accusations of their own campaign coordinating with foreign governments.”
