Nigel Farage confirms Reform report 'family voting' to police and election authorities after concerns raised in Gorton and Denton: Live updates

Nigel Farage has confirmed Reform UK have reported concerns of 'family voting' to police and election authorities after they were raised by official observers in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

In a statement, he said:

Reform has today reported the many cases of ‘family voting’ to the electoral commission and the police. What was witnessed yesterday is deeply concerning and raises serious questions about the integrity of the democratic process in predominantly Muslim areas.

If this is what was happening at polling stations, just imagine the potential for coercion with postal votes. If action isn't taken now, then we will ensure it is after the next General Election.

Your Party leader and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has congratulated Hannah Spencer on her win over Labour in Gorton and Denton.

Mr Corbyn has pledged to work alongside the Greens as leader of his new party to push for a 'coordinated left-flank offensive' against Reform and Labour.

He wrote:

Congratulations to Hannah Spencer on a stunning victory. Proud to support a campaign built on hope and humanity.

Under our new leadership team, Your Party will work constructively with the Greens, because there is only one way we can bring about real change: together.

Dame Harriet Harman has said replacing Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister won't solve Labour's problems at the ballot box.

The former deputy Labour leader insisted it 'could be worse' if Reform won the Gorton and Denton by-election instead of the Greens.

She told Sky News:

This has been very painful and bruising, it will increase anxiety in the run-up to the council elections in England, and in elections in Scotland and Wales.

This will test the mettle of the PLP [Parliamentary Labour Party] - they don't want instability. They do want delivery on the manifesto.

But the fundamentals remain absolutely the same - that piling instability into this situation by having a leadership challenge is not going to solve the problems that people want solved, which is improvement in the way their lives are, improvement in their public services and stability in government.

Sir Keir Starmer is under intense pressure to shift Labour to the Left after the Green Party secured a historic by-election victory in Gorton and Denton.

Labour suffered a humiliating result, trailing in third behind Zack Polanski's Greens and Nigel Farage's Reform UK in the previously rock-solid Greater Manchester constituency.

Labour MPs, unions and campaign groups have demanded a change of course from Sir Keir ahead of crucial elections in May, with warnings his days in No 10 could be numbered unless the party's fortunes improve.

Now it's time to have your say in the Daily Mail's latest poll – do you think the result spells the end for Sir Keir's time as Prime Minister?

Vote in our poll below:

by Greg Heffer, James Tapsfield and David Wilcock

Labour was bitten by 'the monster of harvesting Muslim community bloc votes' it created in last night's by-election, Kemi Badenoch said today as police were urged to investigate allegations of illegal voting activity.

The Tory leader lashed out amid a growing row over claims of 'family voting' in Gorton and Denton raised by independent observers of the shock Green victory.

Nigel Farage lashed out at 'cheating' and Reform's candidate Matt Goodwin blasted 'dangerous Muslim sectarianism' in the wake of his crushing defeat after Democracy Volunteers said there were potential breaches of electoral law.

'Family voting' is where a voter is accompanied by another person, often a relative, into or near polling booths with the intention of influencing their vote.

Tougher legislation, known as the Ballot Secrecy Act, was introduced in 2023 in a bid to clamp down on the practice. That made clear it was an offence.

In a lengthy statement issued this morning, Mrs Badenoch lashed out at all three parties, including accusing Reform of racism.

• Read the full story here

Downing Street said 'the law is the law' when asked 'family voting' in the Gorton and Denton by-election.

Asked if the Prime Minister had concerns about the allegations, a No 10 spokesman said:

The law is the law, and it’s essential that electors can cast their votes in secret without any risk of coercion.

Obviously, if anyone has witnessed coercion, they should discuss that matter with their local elections team or the police.

*this column is available only to Mail Plus readers - to subscribe click here*

by Dan Hodges

Four days ago, Keir Starmer arrived in Gorton and Denton and delivered the following impassioned statement: ‘I want to bring communities together in unity and hope,' he proclaimed.

Well, this morning the Prime Minister has his wish. He has indeed brought Britain together. We are a united nation at last.

Black, white. Rich, poor. Young, old. Man, woman. North, South.

Everywhere you look, the view is the same. People hate – with a loathing so visceral I have seen nothing like it in my 30-plus years working in and writing about British politics – Sir Keir. And they want him gone from office.

Read Dan's full column below:

HODGES: People loathe Starmer. He's been humiliated... this is the end

Four days ago, Keir Starmer arrived in Gorton and Denton and delivered the following impassioned statement: 'I want to bring communities together in unity and hope,' he proclaimed.

Kemi Badenoch has claimed the result of the Gorton and Denton by-election shows Keir Starmer’s premiership is 'finished'.

The Conservative leader also said the Prime Minister would resign 'if he had any integrity'.

She said in a statement:

This result shows Keir Starmer’s premiership is finished. He lost authority a long time ago, a mere hostage at the mercy of a divided Labour Party that cannot decide who to replace him with. He has lost the support of his voters, his MPs and the country.

He is in office but not in power. If he had any integrity he would go.

Green leader Zack Polanski said getting other MPs to defect to the party is not his priority.

He told a press conference:

My priority right now actually is scoping out where might the (next) likely by-election be about to happen and how do we make sure we’re on the ground as quickly as possible to make sure we can repeat this as many times as we need to. Also a relentless focus on local elections and the Senedd.

He added:

Any MP who shares our values, I’m always open to those conversations, but quite frankly, it’s just not something I’m craving at this point because, actually, I want to win Green MPs but I want to do it on the ground in the same way that we just did it last night.

New Gorton and Denton MP Hannah Spencer said her feelings about what might have happened if Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham had stood in the seat for Labour had also changed throughout the campaign.

She said:

If he had stood I think we would have had a harder fight, but I think we possibly still would have won it.

We’ve heard from so many people that they are so angry at Labour and have been for a very long time, that him standing as a Labour politician would not have helped in his campaign to be elected here and would have really gone against him.

She said she thought selecting Mr Burnham as the candidate would not have been the 'saving grace' for Labour some thought it would have been.

Greens leader Zack Polanski told a press conference he 'punched the air' when he learned Andy Burnham had not been selected as a candidate in Gorton and Denton.

But he added his opinion on whether Mr Burnham could have won the by-election for Labour had changed over time.

He said:

When Andy Burnham wasn’t selected I punched the air and I thought it’s very probable we can win this. I wasn’t complacent but I knew we could do it.

Having seen the anger out on the streets about the Labour Party, Andy Burnham is still a Labour Party politician and I would say, no matter how popular you are, even if you have some of the right positions, I think people in this country are looking at Labour MPs, or high-profile Labour politicians, and saying ‘where are your red lines, how can you stand by what this Government is doing?’, whether we’re talking about the cost-of-living crisis or whether we’re talking about the genocide in Gaza.

Labour MP Clive Lewis has described the Gorton and Denton by-election defeat as a 'punch in the face' for Sir Keir Starmer's premiership as he suggested working with the Greens in the future.

Speaking to the Press Association, Mr Lewis said a 'clean break' was needed, adding: 'we talk tough but govern timid'.

He said:

This Government has burned its base, alienated its core vote, sidelined its activists and stuck two fingers up to the very people we came into politics to represent - and we're surprised voters are walking away?

Changing the leader without changing the politics would be a waste of time. The problem isn't presentation. It's direction. We promised change and delivered continuity. We talk tough but govern timid. We protect vested interests when we should be taking them on.

Reform is growing because millions feel ignored and taken for granted. If we don't offer real change, they'll channel their anger elsewhere, as they have this week in Denton and Gorton.

Stopping Reform now has to be the priority. But Labour can't do that from a position of arrogance or denial. We will need to work with other progressive parties. That means cooperation. It means democratic reform. It means accepting we do not own the centre-left vote.