Conservatives complain about poll ‘intimidation’
THE CHAIR of the Conservative Party has written to the police raising concerns about “voter intimidation” and “bullying” in this week’s Rochdale by-election.
Richard Holden suggested there might be a need for a “police presence at polling stations” to protect voters from “indirect or direct” pressure when casting their ballots.
On Thursday, a by-election will take place in the Greater Manchester seat vacated by the death in January of the Labour MP, Sir Tony Lloyd.
The contest has proved acrimonious, with Labour withdrawing support from its candidate, Azhar Ali, after it emerged that he had claimed Israel had “allowed” the Oct 7 attack by Hamas.
The controversial Left-wing politician George Galloway is mounting a challenge to take the seat as a candidate for his Workers Party of Britain.
Yesterday, Mr Holden sent a letter to the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, the chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, Stephen Watson, and the chief executive of Rochdale Borough Council, Steve Rumbelow, requesting reassurances about the contest. It read: “I am writing to you to raise my concerns regarding voter intimidation ahead of the Rochdale by-election. This follows reports of such intimidation and bullying behaviour during the campaign.”
The Tory chair referred to a video that had appeared on social media of an “open fracas” at a hustings in which the candidate for Reform UK, Simon Danczuk, claimed he had been turned away by locals.
Mr Holden said there were “also concerns about the conduct of the Workers Party candidate [Mr Galloway] after accusations of intimidatory tactics and aggression fuelled rhetoric against activists and other candidates during the Batley and Spen byelection.”
A spokesman for Mr Galloway said: “The only police intervention thus far during this campaign has been a member of the public destroying one of our banners.”
He went on: “This is just baseless politicking less than a week before the election because the Conservatives know that George Galloway is on course here for a very large victory.”
The spokesman also said that Mr Holden’s claims about Batley and Spen were “completely baseless”.