Green Party canvassers have been accused of “intimidating” voters after video footage showed some campaigners in Gorton and Denton encouraging them not to support Labour because it backs a “genocide” in Gaza.
Several videos of two men with a loudhailer have been seen by The i Paper. One clip shows one of the men claiming: “Vote for the Green Party. Do not waste your vote on the genocide Labour Party. The only people who can defeat Reform are the Green Party.”
In another clip, one of the men chants: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. End the occupation now. Vote for the Green Party.
“One, two, three, four. Occupation no more. Five, six, seven, eight: Islam is great. Nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Labour Party is going to hell.”
The videos were shot on Stockport Road in the Longsight area of Manchester. Around ten people were standing with Palestine flags alongside a Vote Green banner with candidate Hannah Spencer’s face on it.
On the opposite side of the main road junction, the two men, one with a Green poster and a Palestine flag, encouraged electors to vote Green just after 7pm on Thursday evening, hours before polls closed at 10pm.
A Labour source said: “This is just one example of the intimidating and divisive tactics used by the Greens in Gorton and Denton.
“Today’s Green Party is a far cry from the friendly environmental movement it once presented itself as. Instead, what we see now is a party intent on stirring up division, rather than bringing people together.”
While the Labour Government has always supported Israel’s right to self-defence and stopped short of describing the conflict as a genocide, it pressed ahead last year with the formal recognition of a Palestinian state in defiance of Israeli criticism.
Under Electoral Commission rules governing polling day, campaigners or candidates must not campaign near polling stations in a way that could be seen as aggressive or intimidating. The watchdog says: “for example, large groups of supporters carrying banners, or vehicles with loudspeakers or heavily branded with campaign material.”
The chanting took place within 500 metres of two polling stations and less than half a mile from a third.
The Green Party has been approached for comment.
Green Party candidate and winner Hannah Spencer and Green Party leader Zack Polanski celebrate in Manchester (Photo: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images)Gorton and Denton has a large British-Pakistani population, which the Greens targeted in its campaign by issuing leaflets in Urdu and Bengali that called on voters to “punish Labour for Gaza”.
The party has successfully created an electoral coalition of former Labour voters, university students, graduates and socially conservative Muslims by combining liberal policies, including the legalisation of Class A drugs, with its support for Palestine.
On Friday Spencer used her victory speech to criticise politicians who “scapegoat and blame” Muslims, adding: “My Muslim friends and neighbours are just like me – human.”
Your next read
square BY-ELECTIONWhy family voting matters – and what it means for future elections
square GORTON AND DENTON BY-ELECTIONStarmer ‘is toast’, MPs warn – as even allies question his leadership
square IRAN CRISISBritish diplomats withdrawn from Iran in sign US strikes are coming
square EUUK should talk about rejoining the EU customs union, says trade secretary
Reform UK candidate Matthew Goodwin posted on X: “We are losing our country. A dangerous Muslim sectarianism has emerged. We have only one general election left to save Britain. Vote Reform every chance you get. I will continue the fight. I will always fight for you. I will stand at the next general election. Matt.”
Separately Reform have reported alleged “cheating” in the same by-election to the police and the Electoral Commission. Nigel Farage, the party’s leader has claimed the result was a victory for “sectarian voting” which presented “serious questions” about the integrity of the ballot in “predominantly Muslim areas”.
Democracy Volunteers, the poll observer group accredited by the Electoral Commission, said it had witnessed “concerningly high levels” of family voting in Thursday’s by-election. The practice – which can involve husbands telling their wives how to vote – was made illegal by the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.
Hence then, the article about green campaigners accused of intimidating voters with labour genocide chants was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Green campaigners accused of ‘intimidating’ voters with Labour ‘genocide’ chants )
Also on site :
- With Possible Strike Looming, U.S. Says Staff Can Leave Israel, and Urges Speed
- Shock As Woman Discovers What Bird Has Secretly Been Doing To Her Dog
- A Trump Call Ignited Saudi-U.A.E. Feud