A political strategist who worked on Sir Keir Starmer’s election campaign has explained how he traveled to the US to share “lessons learned” with the Democratic Party after Labour’s election victory.
Trump’s campaign this week illegally labeled the Labor Party after party operations manager Sophia Patel posted on LinkedIn that she was coordinating nearly 100 current and former party officials to campaign in battleground states. accused of interfering.
Deborah Mattinson, who has also worked with Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Neil Kinnock, told Beth Rigby on her podcast “Electoral Dysfunction” that she is a member of the progressive policy institute, a centrist Democratic think tank. He said Tute had asked him to travel to the United States in September to talk to the Democratic Party about Labor’s election campaign.
When she went to the United States, she had already finished her job in the Labor Party.
Mattinson spoke on Tuesday ahead of the Trump campaign filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging “interference” in the form of “clearly illegal foreign contributions by the British Labor Party.”
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It refers to reports suggesting Labor strategists are offering Kamala Harris advice “on how to win back disaffected voters and run a winning campaign from the centre-left.” .
The complaint also refers to a Telegraph report suggesting that Sir Keir’s new chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and communications director Matthew Doyle “attended a convention in Chicago and met with Ms Harris’ campaign team”. I am doing it.
Image: Deborah Mattinson has worked with Sir Keir Starmer, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Neil Kinnock. File photo: Richard Gardner/Shutterstock
Mr Mattinson, who no longer works for Labor, said that after the party’s landslide victory, an acquaintance from the Progressive Policy Institute “reached out to me…and they said I went and learned from some people in the Labor Party. “I asked them to share their lessons,” he said. My Democratic colleagues. ”
“I said, ‘Okay,'” she added.
The think tank said it had funded focus groups and polls “to understand who the hero voters are.”
“And that’s what I did and what I took over there and shared with other Democratic organizations, pollsters, strategists,” she said.
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Mattinson said no one on his team saw anyone from the Harris campaign, but “we spoke to people who work with them.”
She and the people with her went there in September, the week of the first and only debate between Harris and Trump, “so everyone was in Pennsylvania doing the debate. “Ta”.
The strategist added that the Progressive Policy Institute was “founded to collaborate between like-minded political parties around the world, and that is what they do.”
She said she was concerned about the impact of President Trump’s victory. “I’m worried about what this means for centre-left parties around the world.”
Sir Keir has insisted his relationship with Mr Trump is not at risk following allegations of interference by the former president’s campaign.
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The prime minister said on Tuesday that he had a “good relationship” with Mr Trump and said Labor volunteers “participate in almost every election” but “in their spare time”.
Labor insists it does not fund travel or accommodation costs for activists.
Federal election rules state that foreign volunteers cannot spend more than $1,000 (£770) in support of candidates.
A Labor Party spokesperson said: “It is common practice for campaigners of all political persuasions around the world to volunteer in US elections.”
“When labor activists participate, they do so in accordance with laws and regulations and at their own expense.”
