Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has declared that Labour's strategy of 'grievance politics' has spectacularly backfired, following one of the most contentious and underhand election campaigns in recent memory. The Tory figurehead asserted that Sir Keir Starmer's party had engineered the 'monster' of harvesting 'Muslim community bloc' votes, a tactic she claims was ultimately exploited by the Greens to secure a stunning victory in the south Manchester constituencies of Gorton and Denton.
A Campaign Marred by Allegations
The by-election campaign was characterised by a litany of accusations involving dirty tricks, misleading polling data, deceptive leaflets, and outright intimidation from all sides. In the wake of the Green Party's triumph, which pushed Labour into a humiliating third place in a previously safe seat, Mrs Badenoch pointed the finger squarely at Labour, the Greens, and Reform UK for actively stirring up divisive 'grievance politics' throughout the contest.
'Labour created the monster of harvesting Muslim community bloc votes and yesterday that monster came back to bite them,' Badenoch stated emphatically. Her comments underscore a bitter post-mortem of an election where all three main parties faced serious allegations of employing underhanded methods to manipulate the electorate.
Labour's Accusations Against the Greens
Labour officials launched a fierce counterattack, accusing the Green Party of 'whipping up hatred' among Muslim voters in the Pakistani-dominant areas of the constituency. This charge centred on a campaign video produced in Urdu that featured Sir Keir Starmer shaking hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist leader. Labour MP Dr Jeevun Sandher criticised the video as irrelevant to local issues in Gorton and Denton, bluntly adding, 'I can hear the dog whistle.'
This incident echoed a previous Labour tactic from the fierce 2021 Batley and Spen battle, where the party used images of Boris Johnson with Mr Modi to deter potential Conservative voters, highlighting a recurring theme of leveraging international political figures in domestic electoral fights.
Green Party's Controversial Tactics
The Greens themselves faced multiple allegations of misconduct. They produced distorted charts that dramatically misrepresented the proportionality of Labour's vote share, suggesting it was far lower than reality. Furthermore, they were accused of twice misquoting an academic, who subsequently filed an official complaint with the returning officer.
In another contentious move, a Green 'get out the vote' leaflet claimed there were '600 votes in it' between them and Reform, insisting 'no one else can win it.' This assertion was made despite polling data consistently indicating a tight three-way race, misleading voters about the actual competitive landscape.
Labour's Alleged Fabrications
Meanwhile, the Greens accused Labour of inventing entirely fictional organisations to mislead voters about tactical voting options. Leaflets from a non-existent group called 'Tactical Choice' were distributed, urging voters to back Labour as the only viable choice to defeat Reform. In a more severe allegation, the Greens reported Labour to the police over a campaign vehicle that allegedly claimed the Green Party, led by Zack Polanski, wants to 'let our daughters be used for legal prostitution.'
Reform UK's Legal Scrape
Reform UK candidate Matt Goodwin found himself in legal jeopardy over a leaflet purportedly from a 'concerned neighbour' that was actually disseminated on behalf of his party. Sent to 81,000 homes, this misleading document nearly resulted in a substantial fine of up to £5,000 for Goodwin, who narrowly avoided financial penalty but not the reputational damage.
The Gorton and Denton by-election has laid bare the increasingly toxic and manipulative nature of modern political campaigning, with grievance politics and ethical breaches taking centre stage. As parties dissect the results, the debate over fair play and the integrity of the electoral process is set to intensify, casting a long shadow over future contests.
