Police find “no evidence” of family voting in Gorton and Denton by-election following Reform UK allegation
Greater Manchester Police's investigation into Reform UK's allegations of 'family voting' at the Gorton and Denton by-election found "no evidence of any intent to influence or refrain any person from voting".
A probe into allegations made by Reform UK of ‘family voting’ in the Gorton and Denton by-election has been closed after police find “no evidence”. Reform UK’s candidate Matt Goodwin made a report to Greater Manchester Police (GMP) after election observer group Democracy Volunteers said it had witnessed “concerningly high levels” of the illegal practice whereby a person enters a polling booth with someone else or otherwise directs their vote.
The by-election was held on February 26, following the resignation of Andrew Gwynne on health grounds, who had been sitting as an independent following suspension from the Labour Party for sending offensive WhatsApp messages. The Green Party’s Hannah Spencer won with 40.7% of the vote and a majority of 4,402. Reform UK came second with 28.7% of the vote.
In a statement on Friday, GMP said eyewitness accounts from observers had suggested some instances of more than one person going into a booth at the same time, and of people looking over the shoulder of voters.
But the force said the observers did not allege “any verbal instruction or physical conduct that indicated one person was directing or coercing another regarding how to vote”. “This is a crucial part of the legislation to prove such an offence was committed,” it said.
Police said they had asked Democracy Volunteers for descriptions of those alleged to be involved, and timings on when incidents are believed to have occurred.
These details were not documented, and officers were not provided with any identities or descriptions to pursue, meaning there is “no remaining reasonable line of inquiry”, GMP said.
The force said it had obtained some CCTV footage from three polling stations visited by Democracy Volunteers and spoken to the presiding officer from each one, but that no evidence was found of direction or coercion.
“There is no evidence to suggest any intent to influence or refrain a person from voting as stated in the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023,” it said.