Foreign-born voters stole by-election, Farage blasts: Amid rising alarm over suspected ballot fraud, Reform chief says permitting non-British residents into poll sales space threatens democracy

Nigel Farage has sensationally claimed that Reform UK was robbed of victory by foreign-born voters in last week’s Manchester by-election.

Amid mounting allegations that voter fraud and sectarianism contributed to the Green Party’s shock win, Mr Farage makes the incendiary assertion in the Mail on Sunday that ‘Reform UK won the Gorton and Denton by-election among British-born voters’.

And he vowed that if he becomes Prime Minister he will rip up rules which allow non-British citizens to vote in UK elections.

Zack Polanski’s Greens targeted the Muslim vote in Gorton and Denton, focusing their campaign on Gaza and accusing Israel of genocide. 

The party, which released leaflets and videos in Urdu, has been accused of ‘whipping up hatred’ and exploiting sectarianism to secure victory for their candidate, Hannah Spencer.

Independent election observers also reported record levels of so-called ‘family voting’, the illegal practice that often involves a man entering a polling booth with his wife or other relative and telling them how to vote. 

The observers estimated that up to one in eight votes could have been affected by this.

Under current rules, citizens of Commonwealth nations such as Pakistan can take part in British ballots as long as they register themselves as being resident at an address within a UK constituency. 

They must be in the UK legally, which generally means they must have valid immigration status.

Now, in an article for this newspaper, Mr Farage – whose party lost by 4,402 votes – has called the Gorton and Denton result ‘the most glaring example yet of what happens if we’re not careful about the impacts of mass immigration and about the legitimacy of those who can vote in our elections’.

Mr Farage said Reform had established that 10 per cent of the electorate in the constituency were born in Pakistan, and that in half of the wards, more than 20 per cent of voters had been born abroad. 

In one ward, 48 per cent of the voters were not born in Britain. Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour was beaten into third place in the contest, triggering fresh calls for him to resign as leader.

In other developments:

• Oxford-based academic Dr Patrick Nash claimed the practice of cousin marriages was a key driver of ‘family voting’ in the by-election;
• Mr Polanski hired a spin doctor, Abi Wilkinson, who denied that any of the victims of the October 7 Hamas attacks were raped, posted about ‘demonic zionists’ and has repeatedly compared Israel to Nazi Germany;
• The BBC was accused of ‘bowing to woke cultural sensitivities’ by not reporting the claims of voter fraud in its flagship Today programme on Radio 4;
• Supporters of Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham predicted that he would forge an alliance with the Greens and rip up the first-past-the-post electoral system if he succeeds Sir Keir as Prime Minister;
• Mr Burnham is understood to be trying to persuade Marie Rimmer, the veteran Labour MP for St Helens South, to stand aside to let him return to the Commons, with what sources described as ‘an implicit promise of a peerage’ so he can mount a leadership bid;
• Exclusive polling published in the Mail on Sunday shows 44 per cent of voters think the Prime Minister should resign after losing the by-election, with 34 per cent saying he should stay;
• Chancellor Rachel Reeves will lead an attempted Government fightback this week with announcements focusing on the cost of living and a spring forecast claiming to point to ‘green shoots’ in the economy.

A new offence designed to tackle ‘family voting’ was created in 2023, making it illegal for a person to accompany a voter to a polling booth or position themselves nearby with the intention of influencing their decision.

Lord Hayward, the Tory peer and pollster who introduced the law using a private members’ Bill, said the system had clearly ‘gone wrong in a substantial way’ in Gorton and Denton. He said he felt ‘very disappointed’ that the law was apparently flouted.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour had ‘created the monster of harvesting Muslim community bloc votes’ at previous elections, adding: ‘That monster came back to bite them.’

She said the rise of sectarian politics was starting to ‘unravel the culture of tolerance that makes Britain great’.

Greater Manchester Police has said it will investigate the allegations highlighted by Reform. A spokesman said: ‘We can confirm a report has been made. We are in the process of reviewing this report and will provide a further update in due course.’

The Green Party has said claims it cheated were ‘an attempt to undermine the democratic result’.