The Green Party has come under fire for publishing “sectarian” leaflets in Urdu calling on voters to “punish Labour for Gaza” for the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election.
An image posted online of the leaflet shows, on one side, Green candidate Hannah Spencer donning a keffiyeh and standing outside a mosque, along with the caption, written in English, stating: “Stop Islamophobia. Stop Reform.”
This part of the leaflet encourages support for the Green Party at next week’s by-election, in which Nigel Farage’s party is expected to be a strong contender to win the seat in the traditionally Labour-held areas of Greater Manchester.
The other side of the leaflet features writing in Urdu, one of the official languages of Pakistan, spoken by many in the Pakistani diaspora in the UK.
A translation of the leaflet, verified by the JC, states: “Give the faltering walls a push. Labour must be punished for Gaza
"We have to defeat Reform and vote for the Greens. To give the Muslims a strong voice, give your vote to the Greens.”
An estimated 28 per cent of voters in Gorton and Denton are Muslim, and 19.2 per cent are people of Pakistani heritage.
Last month, Green Party leader Zack Polanski told The Times that the party planned to explicitly use the issue of the war in Gaza in an attempt to solicit votes from Muslim communities in the Greater Manchester constituency.
“We’ll want people on the ground to know our position on Gaza, that we’ve stood with the Palestinian people”, he said
“Gorton and Denton has a large Muslim population. Of course, we want to speak to everyone, and it’s not just people who are Muslim who care about people’s freedom and people’s human rights. But I imagine that will certainly be an element in the contest.”
When questioned about the leaflet, the Green Party did not dispute the accuracy of the translation and defended the leaflet.
A spokesperson told the JC: "Not all voters speak English as their first language, so of course Greens wish to be inclusive. Our approach has been praised by locals who love their diverse community.
"Greens have been outspoken about the Labour government's foreign policy failure over Gaza, and it is well known that many voters wish to send a message to Labour at this by-election for very many reasons.
They added: "The by-election remains a close race between Reform and the Greens."
There are no restrictions against using foreign languages in electoral communications.
However, the Greens’ political rivals were deeply critical of their choice of literature.
The Greens benefit from an unfair perception that they are "sandal-wearing hippies" when in reality they are a mix of really sinister commies and really sinister Islamists https://t.co/2V9hNCZhZo
— Neil O'Brien (@NeilDotObrien) February 17, 2026
A translation, posted on X by a Conservative councillor, was shared by Neil O’Brien, a shadow minister within the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, who commented: “The Greens benefit from an unfair perception that they are ‘sandal-wearing hippies’ when in reality they are a mix of really sinister commies and really sinister Islamists.”
Similarly, Labour peer Lord Katz, who is Jewish, attacked what he called the party’s “sectarian” approach to campaigning.
"It is sadly unsurprising the Greens are being so sectarian in their approach – it's all they have. In that way, they are just like Reform. Easy, populist slogans with no real answers to the problems people in Gorton & Denton face,” Katz told the JC.
"Voting Labour is the only sure way of defeating Reform”, he insisted.
This is not the first time the Green Party has been criticised for using the war between Israel and Hamas in its electoral literature.
At the last general election, the party’s former leader Carla Denyer used images of destruction in Gaza and the Palestinian flag as part of her successful campaign in Bristol Central.
Jewish Labour grandee Dame Louise Ellman accused her then of “stirring division”.
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