Police find no evidence of ‘family voting’ in Gorton and Denton by-election

Election observer group Democracy Volunteers said it had witnessed “concerningly high levels” of family voting, an illegal practice where two people use one polling booth and potentially direct each other on voting.

Reform UK, whose candidate Matt Goodwin came second with 28.7% of the vote, reported this to Greater Manchester Police.

The Green Party’s Hannah Spencer won the by-election in February with 40.7% of the vote and a majority of 4,402.

In a statement on Friday, Greater Manchester Police 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,” the force said.

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Nigel Farage has hit out at Greater Manchester Police’s decision to close the probe into so-called family voting.

Reform leader Mr Farage said: “Frankly, this is exactly the kind of establishment whitewash people are sick to death of.

“This isn’t good enough. We need proper oversight, real accountability and the courage to admit when something isn’t right, not another brushed-under-the-carpet report from the usual suspects.”

Police said they had asked Democracy Volunteers for descriptions of those alleged to be involved and timings on when the incidents are believed to have occurred.

These details “were not documented by observers or the complainant, and we have not been provided with any identities or descriptions to pursue,” 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 these stations did not show any evidence of people directing or coercing others on how to vote.

“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.

A spokesperson for Democracy Volunteers said: “Our report reflects observations made in good faith by experienced and trained, independent and non-partisan observers on polling day.

“We used a robust methodology aligned with international observation standards and drew on extensive UK and international experience.

“The report was issued to support transparency in the electoral process. As a courtesy, we spoke to the returning officer before publication without sharing the report’s contents and we issued the report independently in line with our role as observers.

“Any decisions taken by the relevant authorities involve a different evidential threshold; we stand by our methodology and have offered to work constructively with Manchester City Council and others to support improvements going forward.”