With Donald Trump returning to the White House, attention has turned to his relationship with Sir Keir Starmer.

The two had dinner in New York in September and have spoken on the phone since Trump’s election victory, but one of the president-elect’s former aides suggested an argument that arose during the campaign could still cause headaches .

What happened?

Around 100 Labor Party members reportedly volunteered for Democratic candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the November 5 election.

In a now-deleted post on the networking site LinkedIn last month, Labour’s operations chief said: “I have almost 100 current and former Labor Party members traveling to the US in the next few weeks, in North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania. , and Virginia.

“I have 10 spots available for anyone available to travel to the battleground state of (North) Carolina – we will sort your accommodations.”

What was the reaction?

Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump aide, responded to a post on X about Labor activists with: “It’s a crime, Keir Starmer.”

Tech mogul Elon Musk also claimed Labor volunteering in the Democratic campaign was “illegal”, and Nigel Farage was also unhappy.

Was this unusual?

U.S. law prohibits financial contributions, donations and spending by foreign nationals in any election.

However, they are allowed to volunteer in campaigns “as long as the individual is not paid by anyone for the services.”

That said, Labor has long been an ally of Democrats, just as Conservatives are allies of Republicans.

Labor aides traveled to the United States during previous presidential elections to campaign for the Democratic candidate.

Senior UK Conservative figures, including former Prime Minister Liz Truss, have also attended high-profile Republican events, including the National Convention in July.

Could this harm relationships?

Team Trump has taken legal action in the US over his campaign, although Labor hopes that at this stage it is water under the bridge.

Although Starmer and Trump are not natural allies, there has been some warm talk between them publicly in recent months.

But since they’re not on the same side politically at all, another former Trump aide suggested the president-elect might hold a grudge if more problems arise in the future.

Joe Grogan told Sky News after the election that while his former boss had “huge affection” for the UK, news that Labor staffers had helped his opponent was “stupid”.

He hopes Sir Keir will be able to “extend an olive branch to President Trump and work together”, but suggests he admit he “made a mistake”.

“It bothers every Republican I’ve talked to who is aware of it,” he said.