Leading pollster Robert Hayward has told The Independent he intends to raise serious concerns about voting in the crucial Gorton and Denton by-election after a group of election observers issued a critical report.
Democracy Volunteers, who monitor elections across Europe, claimed that they saw the illegal practice of “family voting” in 68 per cent of 22 polling stations observed in a report published as the polling stations closed at 10pm.
The practice – where two voters either confer, collude or direct each other on voting – was made illegal by the Election Bill in 2023. However, Manchester City Council, which is overseeing the by-election, was critical of the organisation for not raising concerns earlier during the day.
In a statement, the organisation, who 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.”
Lord Hayward, who led the Bill with all party support, 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.”
He added: “I may want to discuss matters with the Electoral Commission and government.”
Democracy Volunteers are given access to act as election observers by the Electoral Commission and have already raised concerns with Manchester City Council election staff over what they have observed.
It comes as the Gorton and Denton by-election has gone down to the wire between Labour, the Greens and Reform UK all standing a chance of winning.
The Britain Elects polling aggregator suggested that all three parties could win with Greens on 31 per cent, Reform 30 per cent and Labour 29 per cent. In the 2024 general election the seat was Labour’s seventh safest with a majority of 13,413 and a 51 per cent share of the vote.
Already the fate of Keir Starmer’s premiership is being pinned to the outcome of the by-election and there have been other allegations of dirty tricks.
The practice of “family voting” was made illegal to prevent people watching family members while they were voting see how they cast their ballot and sometimes telling them how to vote.
According to its report, Democracy Volunteers deployed four accredited election observers across the Gorton and Denton by-election. The team attended 22 of the 45 polling stations in the constituency, spending between 30 and 45 minutes in each.
John Ault, director of Democracy Volunteers 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.’
“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 1 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.
Manchester City Council which is overseeing the by-election were critical of Democracy Volunteers for not raising concerns with them earlier.
A spokesperson for the acting returning officer 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.”
However, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “ This is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the integrity of the democratic process in predominantly Muslim areas.”
