The head of a Republican group in the UK said Donald Trump won the US election because the Democrats’ policy on abortion was “like North Korea and China’s”.

Greg Swenson, chairman of Republicans Overseas UK, said he thought Kamala Harris focused too much on abortion and missed other policies important to women.

Speaking at a celebration event in London on Wednesday, he told the PA news agency: “I think it was a shame for the Harris campaign to focus so much on abortion.

“I think a lot of women are looking at the policies saying, well, the Republican policy is first trimester, which seems very European.

“The Democratic policy is more like Cuba, North Korea, China – and so I think people started to look at that and say that’s kind of extreme.

“That’s why I think this whole women are voting in the campaign fell flat; more women voted than men yesterday, but I think the policies that were important to women were not just abortion.”

Around 50 people attended the event dressed in red, while even a dog joined the celebrations wearing a red ribbon around its neck.

Mr Swenson, 62, said: “This was a very late, last-minute effort at putting something together for the election.”

He added: “I’ll make a toast, everybody’s exhausted, we’re thrilled but everyone’s running on fumes right now, what we’re planning to do is a much larger event in a couple of weeks because Trump won.”

Mr Swenson, who has lived in the UK for 10 years, said it is hard supporting Trump in the UK.

He added: “I think the people here see Trump and the Republican party in general through the prism of the media. He’s an acquired taste, he’s a different approach, he’s less diplomatic, he’s very unfiltered and I think polite society isn’t quite ready for that.

“I really believe that conservative leadership is important for the success of America, which is also important for the success of the world. America is the superpower, so I think it’s really important.”

Mr Swenson said he believed the main reasons Mr Trump won the race were financial and immigration issues.