How Labour is helping the Harris push to beat Trump to the White House
Just like their two countries, UK and US politicians have long held a special relationship, with Brits particularly fascinated by the quadrennial battle to become president and leader of the free world.
âItâs like going to a concert or going to the FA Cup final at Wembley,â said one of the many senior Labour figures attending the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago this week.
âThe parties here have people like John Legend and Lil Jon playing at them, whereas we have the young Labour disco or something.â
But while the Brits in Illinois may have been starstruck, it was the Democrats who were looking for inspiration and advice from Sir Keir Starmerâs July election win as they attempted to seize the momentum built since Kamala Harris replaced Joe Biden as their candidate to defeat Donald Trump.
Several senior Labour figures travelled to Chicago for the Democratic National Convention (DNC) this week including the likes of ex-shadow cabinet member Jon Ashworth, Labour chief operating officer John Lehal and MP Mike Tapp.
At least three very senior Downing Street figures were attending the conference.
Ashworth, the former MP and chief executive of Starmerite think-tank Labour Together, told i that Democrats at the event âare interested in Labourâs victory in Julyâ have been asking for tips on how to defeat Trump.
âThereâs two things I would highlight â the way the Harris campaign is highlighting her background as a prosecutor in order to deal with the attacks that the Republicans are making on her as a San Francisco liberal who will be soft on crime.
âThatâs very similar to the Keir Starmer playbook when obviously the Conservatives or the right were keen to characterise him as a north London liberal, but we deliberately made a lot of his background as a prosecutor, particular his work in foiling terrorist plots.
âThe second thing is the way that Republicans are trying to make immigration a big political dividing line.
âTheir attack ads focus on migration at the border and highlight where they believe illegal immigrants have gone on to commit crimes, a very, very aggressive campaign.
âWhatâs interesting is the Democrats here recognise they need secure borders but they are also focusing on a plan to tackle the gangs smuggling people across the borders.
âSo there are very much echoes of Labourâs campaign over here.â
He added: âWhen weâve been talking to Democratic strategists, thatâs what weâve been talking about.â
Ashworth also said he had spoken at an event on how to win over Trump-target working-class voters akin to those in the âRed Wallâ in the UK, which Labour took back in July.
But the election will âcome down to the economyâ and âwho people trust to run the economyâ, Ashworth said, while warning that Biden did not manage to translate successes on jobs and infrastructure into poll leads.
Matthew McGregor, a former adviser to Ed Miliband who worked in Obamaâs campaign HQ, said that the usual formula was that British political parties were influenced by their American counterparts, but this had been reversed since Starmerâs win.
âUK parties have traditionally looked to the US for inspiration over the years and thatâs true still, but whatâs been interesting has been the Democrats seeking out meetings with Labour officials to pick up tips from the recent election here,â he said.
âDems have been especially keen to learn from the digital organising Labour did.â
McGregor added: âBrits love American politics, and Americans love Brits generally so itâs an easy relationship that both sides are always eager to foster.â
While Brits and Americans, Labour and the Democrats and Starmer and Biden and their team have long enjoyed good relations, the Prime Minister and Harris are comparative strangers to each other.
The pair have never met, and although the No 10 staff in Chicago this week were officially there in a personal capacity, it was nevertheless a vital opportunity to build relations.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has met Harris before she was elected as Bidenâs vice president, but plans to build links with her campaign on the margins of the UN General Assembly summit in September, which Starmer may also attend, giving him an opportunity to schmooze both Team Harris and Team Trump.
One Labour insider who has also worked in US politics said the party has âsuper links with the Biden world and the old Obama peopleâ, adding: âI suspect thereâd be a smooth transition if Harris wins.â
But the insider also warned that because Starmer âisnât your typical Labour West Wing obsessiveâ and Harris âdoesnât have a long track record on foreign policy generally and Atlanticism specificallyâ, that âyou could see a world in which both got on well but where thereâs not a big shared mission â think of Obama and Cameron, they got on well but not to any particular endâ.
Sir Peter Westmacott, former British ambassador to the US, told i Labour had been âworking on its contacts with both the Democratic party and Team Trump for some monthsâ, praising the British Embassy for doing a âgreat jobâ for setting up a phone call between Starmer and Trump after the assassination attempt, and for getting an invite to Harrisâs anniversary hip-hop party for ambassador Karen Pierce last year: âI saw for myself as ambassador in Washington the real benefits of the British embassy being right next door to the official residence of the Vice President!â
Sir Peter also predicted a Harris win in November would provide âcontinuityâ for UK diplomacy: âWe can expect a number of current White House officials well known to UK diplomats and politicians, especially on the foreign policy front, to make the transition from Team Biden to Team Harrisâ.
But he warned that while a new Democrat presidency âshould make life easierâ on defence spending and Nato, Barack Obamaâs administration had taken a hard line on this issue and Harris could also pressure Starmer over cash for the military.
Labour is already under pressure to put a timescale on an ambition to raise defence spending to 2.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). But it is carrying out a defence review that has left some fearing cuts.
Sir Peter said: âI remember the Obama administration already being unhappy about how little the Europeans were doing to share the burden of European defence. Thatâs unlikely to change as long as the Europeans do not do significantly more. But Harris will be a much more reliable partner in supporting Ukraine than Trump would beâ
Nevertheless, Labourâs rank-and-file remains far more wary of a Trump victory on 5 November.
The Labour insider who has worked with the Democrats acknowledged a Trump victory would be âunbelievably starkâ with âenormous consequencesâ for the UK Government.
A Labour MP said: âKamala is definitely the right choice. I canât bear to think of another four years of Trump⌠itâs the last thing we [Labour] would want. Youâve seen how heâs talked about Sadiq Khan in the past. Imagine how heâd handle a Labour Prime Minister.â
Another Labour MP, who has worked on Democratic campaigns in the US, meanwhile says a Trump victory would mean a âdramatically different relationshipâ with the UK, with Starmer âon the defensiveâ on Nato and Ukraine and attempting to keep âcore collaborationâ going rather than the âmore ambitious stuffâ.