London CNN —
A former prosecutor takes over a political party in turmoil, promises to turn the page on a time of political turmoil, and storms to a once-unthinkable electoral victory.
It’s a strategy that Vice President Kamala Harris hopes to take with her to the White House. And it’s already working: In the UK, Labor’s Keir Starmer won an election in July that ended 14 years of Conservative government.
The official statement from the Starmer government has been unwavering: London will work constructively with whoever wins the presidential election.
But officials say the similarities in the backgrounds, ideologies and paths to power between Mr Starmer and Ms Harris cannot be ignored, and some of Mr Starmer’s allies say they believe the strategy has worked well for Mr Starmer. We hope that this will be helpful to Mr. Harris as well.
“There are some really striking similarities,” Claire Ainslie, Starmer’s former executive director of policy, told CNN. “The electorate that Ms. Harris needs to persuade and motivate is very similar to the description of the electorate that Labor needs to persuade and motivate.”
Ainslie, who currently heads the Center-Left Renewal Project at the Progressive Policy Institute think tank, presented findings from Labor’s election victory to senior Democratic strategists and pollsters at this year’s Democratic National Convention. .
Her visit was part of broader information sharing between the two camps, a long-standing two-way effort that has troubled former President Donald Trump in the final stages of his campaign. President Trump launched an extraordinary spat with the Labor Party on Wednesday, alleging through his lawyer that the party was interfering in the election.
Britain is bracing for a tense election next month no matter who wins, with debates over trade, Ukraine and the future of NATO on the minds of MPs. Ed Owen, a former special assistant to the House of Commons, said: “The outcome of the election will have significant implications for the UK, its global policy and all the issues that are of vital importance to the UK’s future.” The Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNN.
But this week’s spat has cast renewed scrutiny on Britain and the United States’ complex and delicate “special relationship.”
For decades, leaders on both sides have gone to great lengths to stay out of each other’s politics. As the debate solidifies in each country, that tacit agreement is becoming increasingly tenuous.
The full extent of the Trump campaign against Labor stunned Westminster this week. President Trump, who frequently uses the threat of legal proceedings as a political tool, accused Labor of “blatant foreign interference” in the election, citing a campaign tour of four battleground states by numerous party officials. Labor insisted the trip was undertaken by staff members on their own time and at their own expense and did not breach any regulations.
There is irony in this accusation. The Trump campaign has benefited from the support of prominent figures on the British right, including populist figurehead Nigel Farage and former prime minister Liz Truss, but that support is out of line.
Mr Truss, who resigned as prime minister after just seven weeks and subsequently lost his parliamentary seat in July, told CNN this week: “We are in a very different world than we were 30 years ago.”
“It’s incredibly arrogant for Labor to think it can offer anything to the American people,” Truss said.
But she insisted her visit to the Republican National Convention and outspoken support for Trump was not arrogant, illustrating the blurred lines that political tribalism has brought to the relationship. It’s an absolute disaster for Britain. ”
There are many reasons why Democrats want to learn from Starmer. Both he and Harris have used their pasts as top prosecutors to take tougher stances on crime and immigration than previous centre-left figures, and have argued that they are being left behind by their growing economies. It has targeted traditional working-class voters who feel that they are
“Mr Harris has some of the problem that Mr Keir had, which is that he is an unknown,” said the newly elected Labor MP, who spoke at the influential think tank Labour. Josh Simmons, former director of “Together.” “A big part of her strategy is to provide reassurance that ‘I’m not a secret extremist,’ and that clearly applied to us during the election.”
Josh Fried, senior vice president of climate at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Third Way, who attended the Labor Party conference last month, added: “You’re going to see these lessons being passed back and forth between the two countries.” .
Both Starmer and Harris took over their political parties at great risk, at a point when electoral success seemed remote. But unlike Ms. Harris, who rose to the top of the Democratic Party just months before the election, Mr. Starmer has had time. He spent four years steadily reversing Labor’s standings by the July poll.
And unlike the Democratic standard-bearer, Starmer had the luxury of running from a historically unpopular incumbent party by the start of this year. Mr Truss, a member of the Conservative Party, claimed: “Labour did not win this year’s election, the Conservative Party lost.” “There is no doubt that the people wanted to kick the Conservative Party out.”
Westminster is under no illusions that a Labor government would prefer a deal with a Democratic president. These parties are largely sister organizations, and polls consistently show that President Trump is deeply unpopular in Britain.
“Their priorities align with ours,” Labor MP Mike Tapp said of Harris’ campaign. “Alignment is beneficial, especially in diplomatic efforts like NATO and Israel. I can see that making sense for Kamala Harris.”
Among members of his own party, the prospects for Trump’s term in office raise “deep misgivings” about him as part of a trend toward populist, far-right, and even neo-fascist political leaders in many advanced democracies. It evokes feelings ranging from “harsh realism.” ” said Simmons.
But unlike President Joe Biden, Harris’ political career has not been built around foreign policy. “The truth is, she’s not an Anglophile at all,” Simmons said. “I don’t think we can rely on such old pro-European latent sentiments that exist around Biden and those around him. A confrontation will be forced.”
Under the Trump administration, the conflict is likely to intensify. Most worrying for London is President Trump’s objections to support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. A decline in American support for Kiev would lead to a sudden break in British and American foreign policy.
Stylistically, Starmer, who is serious but sometimes difficult, is already the polar opposite of Trump. This week’s spat with the Trump campaign could further complicate relations between the two men.
Still, some see opportunity in the unpredictability of President Trump’s chances for a second term. Reflecting on his first stint in power, Owen said: …You will be able to influence American policy. ”
A flexible foreign policy may be a concern for U.S. diplomats, but it also creates opportunities for allies. “We can deal with (Trump’s unpredictability). We can work with him,” Tapp said.
And Britain has a centuries-old arsenal that could help facilitate a deal with former presidents and the late Queen Elizabeth II, who still celebrate British history. “There’s a lot of things that the UK can offer that resonate with[President Trump],” Freed said. “A meeting with the King is a very useful tool for Britain. The pomp and circumstance are very similar.”
But President Trump’s second term will be a watershed moment for the West. Many people in Britain still wince when they remember the first time. “What happened on January 6th (2021) was pretty devastating for the world,” Tapp said.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Olaf Scholz and Australia’s Anthony Albanese face difficult re-election next. In July, France’s Emmanuel Macron felt his authority had been undermined. If Harris loses, Starmer could become the last centrist.
“For Starmer, the question is: what does a Trump-led America look like, and what pressure does Britain feel under to be a leader in global centrism and global democracy? “Is there one?” Freed said.
“There are very few countries left that have very stable democracies led by centre-left parties. That will belong to[Starmer]and the Labor Party whether they want it or not.”
