Greater Manchester Police has confirmed it is investigating claims of “family voting” in the recent Gorton and Denton by-election. The report follows a complaint submitted by Nigel Farage on behalf of his Reform UK party. The Electoral Commission has also received Farage’s letter but stated it does not directly investigate electoral fraud, which remains a police matter.
Family voting occurs when multiple members of a household enter a polling booth together, potentially influencing each other’s votes. It is considered a criminal offence under the Ballot Secrecy Act 2023.
Independent election observers, Democracy Volunteers, reported unusually high levels of family voting across the constituency. They recorded incidents in 15 of the 22 polling stations they monitored, describing it as the highest they have observed in ten years. A total of 32 instances were noted, with one station seeing nine cases.
Manchester City Council said no issues were flagged during polling and expressed disappointment that the observations were only raised after the election closed.
The Green Party won the by-election decisively, with Reform UK in second place and Labour in third. A Green Party spokesperson said the result reflected broad support across all areas, adding: “Voters responded to our message on lower bills, NHS protection, and human rights.”
Police are reviewing the report and will provide updates in due course.
