Farage on the defence, following Gorton & Denton defeat

As we’ve reported, the Greens secured a decisive victory in the Gorton & Denton by-election. In response, Green candidate Hannah Spencer thanked the people of the area. Crybaby Nigel Farage, meanwhile, tried to paint himself as a victim of the local electorate:

‘Sectarian voting’

You’ll note Farage blames two things here:

Speaking on “sectarian voting”, Novara’s Ash Sarkar said:

Columnist Nesrine Malik, meanwhile, drew attention to this article she wrote in July 2024:

It’s always telling, which votes are considered valid and which aren’t. Which ones are “tactical”, which express “legitimate concerns” and which are merely “sectarian”. The four independent candidates who won in last week’s election by harnessing frustrations about Gaza are already being treated as a worrying sign of the emergence of sectarian politics. The implication is that it’s only Muslims who care about Gaza, and that they do so at the expense of their domestic concerns and loyalties. The truth is that Gaza’s resonance stretches across diverse demographics. It is both connected to and informed by other political grievances, and it has become the expression of something that our political climate has made it difficult to countenance – that voters can have principles they care about without this being an indication of extremism or irrelevance.

In response to the “cheating” accusation, the Green Party said:

The scale of our victory shows that the Green Party has picked up substantial support in all parts of the constituency, in all areas, among all people. It was a victory for unity over division, for hope over hate. Our message to lower bills, protect the NHS and public services and for peace and human rights was a message which resonated here, to all voters in this by-election.

To be fair, we did observe what looked like cheating in the by-election. Editor Alonso Gurmendi noticed the same issues:

‘Family voting’

If you’re unclear what “family voting” is, you’re not alone:

This is how Steven Swinford of the Times described it:

International election observers have claimed they saw “concerningly high levels” of family voting in the Gorton and Denton by-election

Family voting is an illegal practice where two voters use one polling booth at the same time. It can involve husbands instructing their wives how to vote

Democracy Volunteers UK observed 32 cases of family voting in 15 of the 22 polling stations they observed. A spokesman for the organisation said it was the “highest levels of family voting at any election in our 10 year history of observing elections in the UK.”

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.’

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“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% of polling stations, affecting 1% of voters. In Gorton and Denton, we observed family voting in 68% of polling stations, affecting 12% of those voters observed.”

The implication is that Muslim men are forcing their wives to vote a certain way. Given that the attacks are coming from the right, the suggestion is that if not for these overbearing husbands, Muslim women would vote Reform – a party which constantly slams Muslims and women:

This is what reporter Gary Younge said about the phenomenon:

Ash Sarkar said:

Mail on Sunday commentator Dan Hodges said:

And we added:

Cut through

The establishment parties can’t accept that voters want something besides more of the same. That’s why you’re going to hear a lot about “cheating” and “sectarian voting” in the coming years from Farage and others.

But as this by-election has shown; that’s all just noise, and a positive message absolutely can cut through.

Featured image The Canary