Nigel Farage has been accused of echoing Donald Trump’s election denial tactics after he claimed a Reform party candidate “came first” among British-born voters in last week’s Gorton and Denton byelection.
Bypoll Results and Allegations
Hannah Spencer, a local plumber and councillor, was elected as the Green party’s first MP in northern England, winning 14,980 votes – more than 4,400 ahead of the Reform candidate, who came second.
Following the election, Reform reported allegations of “family voting” – a breach of secret ballot rules – to Greater Manchester police and the Electoral Commission.
Farage’s Claims and Policy Proposal
Farage outlined a new Reform policy that would limit voting in parliamentary elections to British citizens. He added, “I’m absolutely convinced that amongst British-born voters, Matthew Goodwin came first in their election last week. Of that, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever.”
Farage also criticized Green voters, stating, “It was ironic hearing the winning Green party candidate talking about hard-working people when she won the byelection. I’m not sure anyone who votes Green works, but there we are.”
Spencer’s Response
Spencer, who took her seat in Westminster on Monday, accused Farage of insulting voters in her constituency.
“Everyone’s vote is equal. Farage today is talking racist nonsense and is trying to sound like his hero Donald Trump who also tried to deny the results of an election he lost,” she said. “Farage doesn’t even know who voted for Reform, it’s a secret ballot and he spent hardly any time in the constituency. Farage has insulted the people of my constituency by saying people who voted Green don’t work. We won by appealing to everyone, including Reform voters, and his party were shown the door.”
Georgie Laming, director of campaigns at Hope Not Hate, claimed Farage has a “track record of seeking to undermine elections and the wider democratic process.”
“Like his close ally Donald Trump, Farage has regularly disputed election defeats, including in Oldham in 2015, Peterborough in 2019 and Rochdale in 2024.”
Analysis of Voting Patterns
Sunder Katwala, director of the British Future thinktank, said Farage was attempting to delegitimize lawful voters but argued his numbers were inaccurate. “The Greens would have won the election among the four-fifths of voters born in the UK, who include white and Asian voters, perhaps more by 1,000 or 1,500 votes than 5,000,” he added.
Katwala noted that Reform and the Greens likely won about a third each of the white British vote, while Reform had limited appeal to younger voters, students, graduates, renters, and British-born minorities.
Reform UK announced plans on Sunday to restrict postal voting to elderly and disabled individuals, serving armed forces personnel, and those working overseas during elections. The party also proposed removing the right to vote from Commonwealth citizens, though it later clarified that Irish passport holders in the UK would retain their voting rights.
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