Labour wants the authorities to look into claims of high levels of “family voting” in the Gorton and Denton by-election, with the party’s chairwoman describing the findings as “very concerning”.
Anna Turley was among the political leaders to react to a report by election observer group, Democracy Volunteers, which claimed to have witnessed the illegal practice in 68 per cent of 22 polling stations monitored.
“Family voting” – where two voters either confer, collude or direct each other on voting – was made illegal by the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.
Speaking to Sky News, Ms Turley said: “It’s really concerning to hear. I hope the appropriate authorities will be looking at that, examining it and taking any reasonable steps.”
She added: “Obviously, it is very early stages at the moment to assess the information, but of course it’s deeply serious because every vote should be personal, secret. That’s the cornerstone of our democracy.
“So any evidence to the contrary is very concerning, and I am sure the relevant authorities will be looking at this in the days and weeks ahead.”
It could fall to Greater Manchester Police, the Electoral Commission, and Manchester City Council to look into the allegations.
In a statement, Democracy Volunteers, which had four volunteers working at the by-election, said: “Today we have seen concerningly high levels of family voting in Gorton and Denton. Based on our assessment of today’s observations, we have seen the highest levels of family voting at any election in our 10 year history of observing elections in the UK.”
The organisation said it attended 22 of the 45 polling stations in the constituency, spending 30 to 45 minutes in each, and witnessed family voting in 15.
The group said they observed a sample of 545 individuals casting their vote and saw 32 cases of family voting in total, including nine cases in one polling station.
But Manchester City Council, which is overseeing the by-election, was critical of the group for not raising concerns with them earlier, adding that no issues were reported from polling stations beforehand.
Leading pollster Robert Hayward, who authored the legislation that outlawed “family voting”, told The Independent he may want to raise the matter with the Electoral Commission.
He said: “The report as prepared by Democracy Volunteers is concerning. The Ballot Secrecy Act which I introduced and steered through both Houses into law should have stopped such practices. I am very disappointed and will be discussing these details with Democracy Volunteers further.”
Meanwhile, Green Party leader Zack Polanski suggested he would back a probe into family voting.
He told BBC Newsnight: “I think it’s important that there’s full transparency about the democratic process, and if the recommendation is that there should be an inquiry or further steps then yes I’d support that.”
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage said it raised “questions about the integrity of the democratic process in predominantly Muslim areas”.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer was humiliated as the Green Party snatched the formerly safe seat of Gorton and Denton away from Labour.
The loss, which saw Labour come in third, is a major blow to the prime minister’s ailing authority and will spark further questions over his leadership of the party, amid devastating approval ratings and mounting concern over the direction of the government.
The result came after Labour’s deputy leader Lucy Powell appeared to admit defeat in the early hours of the morning, saying the Greens had won the “argument that they were best placed” to keep Reform UK out of the Manchester Central constituency.
The practice of “family voting” was made illegal to prevent people watching family members while they were voting to see how they cast their ballot and sometimes telling them how to vote.
John Ault, director of Democracy Volunteers, said: “We rarely issue a report on the night of an election, but the data we have collected today on family voting, when compared to other recent by-elections, is extremely high.
“In the other recent Westminster parliamentary by-election in Runcorn and Helsby we saw family voting in 12 per cent of polling stations, affecting one per cent of voters. In Gorton and Denton, we observed family voting in 68 per cent of polling stations, affecting 12 per cent of those voters observed.”
The elections bill came after an independent review looked into cases such as the 2014 Tower Hamlets mayoral election, which was declared void by corrupt and illegal practices.
A spokesperson for the acting returning officer at Manchester City Council, which is overseeing the by-election, said: “Polling station staff are trained to look out for any evidence of undue influence on voters. No such issues have been reported today.
“If Democracy Volunteers were so concerned about alleged issues, they could and should have raised them with us during polling hours so that immediate action could be taken.
“We have operated a central by-election hub which has been rapidly responding to reported issues during the day, in liaison with the police who had a presence at every polling station – where necessary.
“It is extremely disappointing that Democracy Volunteers have waited until after polls have closed to make such claims."
