Voters in the London constituency being contested by Green leader Zack Polanski were accosted by keffiyeh-clad campaigners saying they would “go to hell” if they backed “genocidal” Labour, witnesses have told the JC.
Activists near a polling station in Somers Town in Holborn and St Pancras allegedly made the threats during May’s local elections while urging voters to support the pro-Palestine Camden People’s Alliance (CPA).
The CPA is led by antizionist independent Andrew Feinstein, who is now supporting the Green Party – which has accepted his endorsement – in the October 8 by-election.
Katie Lam, the shadow communities secretary, has described the revelation as “extremely alarming” and said the Electoral Commission should probe any reports of voter intimidation.
One local witness said campaigners wearing keffiyehs positioned themselves on either side of the approach to the polling station, approximately 150 metres from the entrance, and told voters that choosing Labour meant they were “supporting unbelievers and will go to hell”.
“They said people should not vote for Labour as Labour were supporters of genocide and baby killers in Israel, and the only people dealing with the issues in Gaza are CPA,” the man said.
“They were accosting people coming toward the polling stations,” he added, saying that one Labour councillor was described by a member of the group as “the biggest Zionist in Camden”.
Another witness said he heard a campaigner telling voters: “A vote for Labour is a vote for genocide and you will go to hell.”
The activists were said to have spoken in Somali, Bengali and Arabic, as well as some English.
CPA posters were displayed around the polling station, while pavement graffiti reading “vote CPA” was accompanied by an arrow pointing towards the building.
The JC has not seen evidence that the activists accused of making the threats will campaign for the Greens in the by-election, or that the CPA instructed them to behave in that manner in May.
The witness also said Shah Bakth, a local independent candidate backed by the CPA, entered a mosque and escorted “scores” of voters to the polling station, holding some of them by the hand. The witness, a local man who did not want to be named, said the incidents had been reported to election officials, but understood no action had been taken.
Shah Bakth, a local independent candidate backed by the Camden People's Alliance (Image: Facebook)[Missing Credit]
“These people are spineless and don’t want to be facing up to the truth. They are afraid of their shadows,” he said.
He believed the campaign tactics had contributed to Labour’s Edmund Frondigoun losing his seat, falling 21 votes behind Bakth.
“It was blatant, the way they did not approach the obviously white English voter, they would go to Somali voters. Without that skullduggery, I am pretty sure Edmund would have won,” he said.
Lam described the reports as “extremely alarming”, saying: “Voter intimidation and sectarian campaigning are fundamental, existential threats to our democracy.
“These reports comes after equally worrying and widespread accounts of family voting in the Gorton and Denton by-election – a matter about which the authorities are still in denial.
“Sectarian and separatist campaigning is poisonous and divisive. We must do everything that we can to stamp it out. The government and the Electoral Commission must investigate all reports of intimidation, and ensure that the law is enforced equally.”
In March, Greater Manchester Police concluded its investigation into the Gorton and Denton allegations and found no evidence of criminality, including “any intent to influence or refrain any person from voting.” While peaceful campaigning outside polling stations, including in languages other than English, is allowed, undue “spiritual” pressure on voters is prohibited. The Electoral Commission’s code also warns that groups of campaigners outside polling station can be perceived as intimidating.
The allegations come as the CPA has started campaigning for Polanski in the contest to succeed Sir Keir Starmer, who resigned as MP for Holborn and St Pancras after stepping down as prime minister. The CPA said its endorsement of the Greens followed Polanski’s pledge to campaign “against Israel’s genocide and in support of the Palestinians”, adding that it would help him beat “the entrenched local Labour machine”.
The two groups previously struck an arrangement for the local elections, with the CPA fielding candidates in King’s Cross and St Pancras and Somers Town, with the Greens standing elsewhere.
Feinstein – a Jewish anti-apartheid activist and former African National Congress (ANC) MP in South Africa – finished second to Starmer at the last general election with 7,312 votes to Starmer’s 18,884, while the Greens secured 4,030. Following that loss, Feinstein founded the CPA.
He will now be hoping his supporters can help Polanski overturn Labour’s majority and become the party’s first London MP. Gaza features prominently in Green campaign literature, with a leaflet featuring the party’s deputy leader, Mothin Ali, stating: Only Greens continue to stand firm on Palestine.” The message also appears in Bengali, Somali and Arabic. Lam has separately called for all campaign literature to be in English, criticising one of Polanski’s campaign videos in Urdu.
“Attempting to appeal to group-based grievances by campaigning in foreign languages is poisonous. We must ban this practice for good. Politics in our country should be conducted in the language of public life,” the shadow minister said in response to one of Polanski’s campaign videos. Labour previously distributed Yiddish leaflets to Charedi households in Hackney.
Polanski campaigning in Urdu ahead of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election (Image: Green Party)[Missing Credit]
Polanski also thanked a social media user for his support after the user posted a photograph of Labour’s candidate, Sagal Abdi-Wali, with Starmer and questioned how Muslims could support the party. Abdi-Wali, Camden’s council leader and a councillor for Camden Square, is a Muslim woman and former child refugee.
Workers Party founder George Galloway has launched a remote campaign to run in the by-election. Tory Ewan Cameron, Liberal Democrat Patrick Stillman and Reform UK’s Pete Newman will stand as well.
The CPA’s co-chairs denied all the allegations put to them by the JC.
“This is borne out by the fact that no complaints were filed and the CPA worked closely and collaboratively with polling officials throughout the day,” they said, saying the allegations were the “creation of a fertile imagination and without any basis in truth. The CPA is supported, run and endorsed by people from a range of faiths, backgrounds and ethnicities, united in their demand for progressive politics and accountability for genocide.”
A Camden Council spokesperson said: “We are committed to ensuring elections are conducted fairly, safely and in accordance with electoral law. While campaigning outside polling stations is not unlawful, activity that is intimidatory or obstructive breaches electoral law and may warrant action. No reports with this detail were provided to the council. However, in response to the reports we did receive of alleged inappropriate behaviour during recent elections, additional staff were deployed to affected locations and the police were asked to attend. We will have additional staff available for the by-election to respond to any concerns.”
The Greens and Bakth were contacted for comment.
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