After the Head of Operations for the United Kingdom’s Labour Party recruited nearly 100 of the left wing party’s activists to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris in the United States, social media posts reveal high profile members of the party have already campaigned for Democrats in battleground states.
These include both a member of Parliament for the Labour Party, who recently door-knocked for the Democrat in New Hampshire, and a regional communication director for Labour North, who campaigned for Harris and Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) with another Labour Party staffer in Nevada.
First, Ruth Cadbury (Lab, Brentford, and Isleworth) confirmed in a post to the social media platform X that she traveled to New Hampshire to campaign for Harris after the Labour Party Conference was held in Liverpool last month.
“What does one do after #LPConference? I’ve taken myself to do a bit of stop Trump winning,” wrote Cadbury. “Doorknocking yesterday with the #HarrisWalz team in (swing state) New Hampshire, along with State Senate candidate Wayne Haubner [and] leaflets for his other local Democrat colleagues.”
What does one do after #LPConference? I’ve taken myself to do my bit to stop Trump winning.
Doorknocking yesterday with the #HarrisWalz team in (swing state) New Hampshire, along with State Senate candidate Wayne Haubner & leaflets for his other local Democrat colleagues pic.twitter.com/1M733mzXuh— Ruth Cadbury (@RuthCadbury) September 29, 2024
In a later post, Cadbury stated that she paid for her flight to the United States but did not immediately respond when contacted by The Tennessee Star to ascertain whether she also paid for her lodging.
The Star similarly did not receive an immediate response from Wayne Haubner’s campaign for New Hampshire State Senate after inquiring whether it arranged Cadbury’s lodging, how their campaigning was arranged, and whether Haubner is concerned about foreign influence over elections in the United States.
Cadbury’s post came weeks before Sofia Patel, the Labour Party’s head of operations, revealed an effort to send nearly 100 of the party’s activists to campaign for Harris in battleground states. Following that revelation, GBNews reported activists recruited by Patel are paying for their own flights but have their accommodations arranged by Democrats in the United States.
Though Cadbury appears to be the only member of parliament who campaigned for Harris in the United States, a regional director for Labour North suggested he was campaigning for the Harris and Rosen campaigns in another post to X.
Labour North Regional Communications Officer Sam Forster captioned a photo showing him and an unidentified woman holding campaign literature for the Harris and Rosen campaigns, “What happens when two Labour staffers go on Holiday in a swing state?”
What happens when two Labour staffers go on holiday to a swing state?@AnyaDurrant pic.twitter.com/6HPzlUFeBb
— Sam Forster (@sdforster) October 10, 2024
Forster wrote in response to criticism from other users on X, “I was campaigning for the Democratic Candidate for President, not to restore the monarchy,” but that his effort, “Seems to have really worked up some anonymous online e weirdos though!”
Labour North is part of the Labour Party, and according to its website, it is responsible for campaigning “across the North East and Cumbria to win for Labour and to help build a better Britain.”
Though the Labour Party official tagged the Nevada Democratic Party in his post to X, the Nevada Democrats did not immediately respond to The Star when asked about Forster’s presence, including whether the party is providing accommodations during his stay, how many foreign citizens are volunteering for the party, and if Nevada Democrats are concerned about foreign influence over elections in the United States.
It is not clear whether the foreign nationals nor their Democratic hosts are violating U.S. election laws, but part of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 prohibits non-citizens from interfering in American elections monetarily, either directly to a candidate or to a political action committee.
The same statute prohibits foreign nationals from spending money “for an electioneering communication.”
A Federal Election Commission (FEC) web page notes that while foreign nationals are explicitly forbidden from making contributions to political campaigns, they “may participate in campaign activities as an uncompensated volunteer.”
Should a foreign national volunteer for a political campaign, the FEC warns volunteers “not to participate in the decision-making process of the campaign,” as this is prohibited by the FEC.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ruth Cadbury” by Ruth Cadbury.
I don’t care if the election laws allow it, I think it’s interference.
not a good idea to do that where I live.
someone may get their butt whipped.
Great….Some of the WORST the UK has to offer, over here to support the WORST the US has to offer….