Labour is accused of ‘dirty tricks’ after ‘leaflets from fake tactical voting group arrive in letterboxes’ in Gorton hours before crucial by-election
Labor has been embroiled in controversy after a fake company falsely claimed it was a ‘tactical election’ in a by-election campaign leaflet in Gorton and Denton.
The leaflet was placed on the doors of voters in the Greater Manchester constituency on Wednesday evening, before they went to the polls on Thursday.
The vote was triggered in February last year when incumbent Labor MP Andrew Gwynne resigned for health reasons.
This comes after he was suspended from the party and sacked as Health Minister over offensive WhatsApp messages, The Mail revealed on Sunday.
Labor won the seat with a solid majority of 13,413 and more than half the vote as part of its landslide election victory in July 2024.
But his decline in popularity since then means the constituency may now be vulnerable, with Reform England and the Green Party being his main rivals.
The fiercely contested by-election will be a crucial test for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, whose premiership has been plagued by difficulties from the start.
And his party is now accused of playing dirty ahead of the crucial vote, with fake leaflets supporting his campaign. HuffPost reports.
The leaflet (pictured) was hung on the doors of voters in the Greater Manchester constituency on Wednesday evening, before they went to the polls on Thursday.
The leaflet (pictured) is claimed to be from a company called ‘Tactical Election’, which promotes tactical voting. The text on the leaflet says that this strategic choice will be Labor candidate Angeliki Stogia
The fiercely contested by-election will be a crucial test for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, whose premiership has been plagued by difficulties from the start. Picture: The Prime Minister with Labor candidate Ms Stogia, right, during a visit to Gorton and Denton earlier this week
Gorton and Denton residents received a leaflet purporting to be from a firm called ‘Tactical Election’, which promotes tactical voting.
This approach to elections suggests that voters support candidates they would not normally support simply to prevent others from winning; in this case Nigel Farage’s Reformation.
The text in the brochure says that this strategic choice will be Labor Party candidate Angeliki Stogia. He also claims campaign literature was promoted in his name.
The leaflet reads: ‘Tactical Choice says Vote Labour. ‘Based on a new forecast made in the last 24 hours, we recommend voting Labour.’
However, the absence of such an organization called ‘Tactical Election’ suggests that the campaign materials may be completely fake.
In fact, two genuine tactical voting organizations – Tactical.Vote and StopTheTories.Vote – have suggested that the strategic choice to stop reform is actually the Greens.
Labor is fighting a double-election threat in the by-election, with Reform and Green candidates Matt Goodwin and Hannah Spencer fielding.
The latest poll, published on Wednesday, suggested the Greens could pull off a shock win.
Opinium research reveals the party has 30 per cent support among likely voters, with Labor and Reform close behind on 28 per cent.
All figures were within the margin of error, and constituency-level polls always come with a health warning because they are so difficult to get right.
But Labor figures will be dismayed to see efforts to unite Left voters against Nigel Farage’s rebels stumble.
A Green Party spokesman said: ‘In a final move of desperation the Labor Party set up a completely fictitious organization called ‘Tactical Election’, referencing them in their latest leaflets.
‘They’ve had to make up for it because the real tactical voting bodies have all endorsed the Green Party as the best hope of keeping Reform out of this election.
‘We have great confidence that voters will see through Labour’s desperate lies and unite behind the Greens in tomorrow’s by-election to defeat Reformation.’
A Labor campaign spokesman said: ‘The Greens have been spreading fake news and using dirty tactics for weeks. We will not learn from them.
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Does reform still have a path to victory here?
The latest poll, published on Wednesday, suggested the Greens could pull off a shock win. Picture: Greens candidate Hannah Spencer with party leader Zack Polanski at a campaign event in Manchester last week
Labor figures will be dismayed that efforts to unite Left voters against Nigel Farage’s rebels have stumbled. Picture: Reform candidate Matt Goodwin (left) with party leader Farage (right) at a campaign event in Manchester earlier this month
‘The only way to beat Reform in this by-election is to support Labour.’
Sir Keir’s fate, after narrowly escaping a coup two weeks ago, may depend on the outcome of Thursday’s by-election.
The mayor of Manchester has blocked Andy Burnham from becoming the Labor candidate over concerns he could challenge him for the leadership in the House of Commons.
Labor MPs and ministers are expected to fill the Manchester seat within the next 48 hours in a bid to salvage the campaign.
The Prime Minister himself also visited on Monday; However, due to the concern created by his personal evaluations, he was kept far away from ordinary voters.
Green leader Zack Polanski remains confident about his party’s future, despite concerns from some about his policies.
The Greens want to legalize hard drugs, decriminalize prostitution and implement an effective open-door immigration policy.
They also supported Britain paying large reparations for the slave trade.
By-election literature targets the significant Muslim vote in the constituency, including a focus on Gaza.
Other polls also point to an incredibly tight three-way race in Gorton and Denton, but some question their methodology.
Sir Keir made a symbolic campaign stop at a sports center on Monday, carefully surrounded by Labor activists, candidate Ms Stogia and her deputy Lucy Powell.
Although his aides insist he will meet with voters, there is no evidence that has happened.
He spoke to Mr Burnham but there was no footage of the encounter.
Reform candidate Matt Goodwin described the by-election as a referendum on Sir Keir’s leadership, which has weathered several storms of late.
Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar called on Peter Mandelson to resign earlier this month due to fallout from his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
And just 20 months since Labour’s election victory have been marked by a number of significant policy U-turns; most recently the postponement of local elections, digital ID cards and bar business rates.
