Green Party's By-Election Campaign Crosses Line of Democratic Decency
The recent victory of the Green Party in the Gorton and Denton by-election may fade from memory, but the troubling campaign tactics and precedent it established will leave a lasting, damaging imprint on British politics. This episode represents a dangerous Balkanisation of the country, where citizenship is being sidelined in favour of antagonistic tribal identities that overlap geographically but clash ideologically.
Sectarian Campaigning and Historical Amnesia
The Green Party's behaviour during the by-election campaign should place them beyond the boundaries of democratic decency. Their approach was divisive and sectarian, deliberately stoking Muslim grievances against Israel and India while abandoning any pretence of appealing to voters as British citizens. At one point, Green candidate Hannah Spencer told her Reform opponent Matt Goodwin that the Manchester Arena bombing occurred "because people like you are dividing people."
Labour MP Jeevun Sandher, of Sikh heritage, complained about a "dog-whistle" Green campaign video in Urdu featuring Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer shaking hands with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, a deeply unpopular figure in Islamic communities. Sandher apparently forgot that five years earlier, Labour employed precisely the same tactic in a Yorkshire by-election, displaying a picture of Boris Johnson with Modi alongside the caption "Don't risk a Tory MP who is not on your side."
The Erosion of Common Identity
No democracy can flourish without common identity and shared allegiance. Throughout history, multinational regimes like the Habsburgs, Ottomans, and Soviets survived only while remaining autocratic; once their peoples gained the right to choose, they fractured along ethnic lines. What's happening in Britain today is more culpable because we're actively teaching groups of our own citizens to be separate and resentful.
We have transformed from a cohesive nation where most accepted fundamental norms—equality before the courts, parliamentary democracy, religious pluralism, free speech—to one fostering division. While immigration policies might have been managed differently, the fundamental error was abandoning British patriotism. During the 20th century, most settlers arrived in Britain positively, but we taught their children that Britain was rapacious, reprehensible, and racist, prompting some to turn against their birth country.
Political Exploitation and Tribal Alliances
Labour has long encouraged negative narratives about Britain among ethnic minority communities for partisan gain and can hardly complain when others, particularly the Greens and Gaza independents, take this further. The Greens campaigned primarily on two issues: lifting immigration controls and hostility toward Israel. These issues unite what remains of their traditional base—who view distinguishing between citizens and non-citizens as racist—with their new Muslim voters.
When questioned about the Urdu video, Green deputy leader Mothin Ali claimed, "We've tried to appeal to people from all kinds of backgrounds. That's about inclusivity." This is an odd description for campaigning in a language that 19 out of 20 British citizens don't understand. Ali gained national attention by shouting "Allahu Akbar" while celebrating his 2024 local election victory in Leeds and calling to raise the voice of Gaza and Palestine.
Dangerous Rhetoric and Political Calculations
On October 7, Ali recorded a clip arguing that "Palestinians have the right to resist occupying forces" and everyone should "support the right of indigenous people to fight back." As a second-generation Briton, he seems unaware how dangerous it is to encourage "indigenous people to fight back." The potential backlash might not return us to civic liberalism with renewed emphasis on individual rights but could become collectivist and self-pitying in the opposite direction.
Why are leftists pursuing this strategy? Do Greens believe their new voters will embrace their entire platform? Do they imagine Manchester Muslims are demanding puberty blockers, "gender-affirming care," and drug legalisation? Of course not. This is purely a numbers game. The Greens have lost interest in environmental issues not just because they can't outflank Ed Miliband, but because immigration and anti-Israel campaigning attract more votes.
The Islamo-Leftist Alliance and a Better Alternative
What the French term "Islamo-gauchisme"—Islamo-leftism—is inherently negative. All that unites eco-activists with Islamists is dislike of the West generally and Israel specifically. Historically, such alliances result in white leftists being swallowed by their Islamist partners.
There is an alternative. Respectable parties should appeal to British Muslims precisely as British citizens. They should recognise that many Green and Labour voters support conservative parties in their countries of origin, where victimhood narratives aren't encouraged. They should emphasise values that prompted millions of British Muslims to volunteer in both world wars.
The best way to defeat a bad idea is with a better one. If there exists a superior alternative to an open society based on property rights and personal liberty, it has yet to be articulated. The Green Party's by-election campaign represents not just political opportunism but a fundamental threat to the cohesive democratic fabric of Britain.
