Labour’s ‘grievance politics’ got here again to chew it in controversial Gorton and Denton by-election, Kemi Badenoch says
Labour‘s ‘grievance politics’ had come back to bite it following one of the dirtiest election campaigns yet, Kemi Badenoch said yesterday.
The Tory leader said Keir Starmer’s party had created the ‘monster’ of harvesting ‘Muslim community bloc’ votes which had been used by the Greens to beat it on the streets of south Manchester.
The Gorton and Denton by-election campaign saw accusations of dirty tricks, dodgy polling, misleading leaflets and intimidation throughout.
Following the Green victory, Mrs Badenoch accused Labour, the Greens and Reform UK of stirring up ‘grievance politics’.
‘Labour created the monster of harvesting Muslim community bloc votes and yesterday that monster came back to bite them,’ she said.
The three main parties were all accused of using underhand tactics to manipulate the vote.
Labour accused the Greens of ‘whipping up hatred’ among Muslims in Pakistani areas of the constituency by putting out a campaign video in Urdu featuring Sir Keir shaking hands with the Hindu nationalist Indian PM Narendra Modi.
Labour MP Dr Jeevun Sandher said the video ‘doesn’t feel relevant to Gorton and Denton’, adding: ‘I can hear the dog whistle.’
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour had created the ‘monster’ of ‘Muslim community bloc’ voting which she claimed bit back at them in Gorton and Denton
Keir Starmer’s party lost the by-election after being pushed into third place in a previously safe seat
Labour had used pictures of Boris Johnson shaking hands with Mr Modi to put off potential Tory voters in the fierce 2021 battle for the Batley and Spen seat.
Elsewhere, the Greens produced charts which were dramatically out of proportion and suggested Labour’s vote was lower than it was.
They were accused of twice misquoting an academic who then made an official complaint to the returning officer.
And a ‘get out the vote’ leaflet claimed there were ‘600 votes in it’ between them and Reform and ‘no one else can win it’, despite polls showing a three-way race.
Meanwhile, Labour were accused by the Greens of inventing fictional organisations to convince voters that they were the tactical voting choice to beat Reform.
The Greens said that leaflets from a non-existent group called ‘Tactical Choice’ had urged voters to back Labour.
They also complained about a Labour campaign vehicle which reportedly claimed that Zack Polanski’s party wants to ‘let our daughters be used for legal prostitution’.
The party is said to have reported Labour to the police over it.
Reform candidate Matt Goodwin ended up in court over a leaflet said to be from a ‘concerned neighbour’ that was actually sent on behalf of the party.
He narrowly avoided a fine of up to £5,000 for the document, sent to 81,000 homes.
