Breaking: Five arrested over Labour’s fake Tameside ‘independent candidate’ scandal

Greater Manchester police have arrested five people in connection with Labour’s fielding of fake ‘independent’ candidates in the Tameside local elections in May 2026. Skwawkbox reported on the scandal. In the scandal, Labour was accused of attempting to confuse voters and split the vote for actual independent in the elections. Electoral fraud is a serious criminal offence.

Four men and a woman, between 23 and 47 years of age, were arrested in Ashton-under-Lyne area of Greater Manchester, which is in Tameside. The area’s MP is former deputy PM Angela Rayner. Police said the arrests were on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud related to “illegality and criminality” in the St Peter’s ward election campaign. Investigations are ongoing.

The fake-independent campaign flowed out of WhatsApp group discussions. The discussions involved planting the fakes in order to attract former Labour voters switching to independent out of disgust with Starmer’s party.

Tameside candidates scam

The reported scam apparently worked in Tameside, raising concerns about integrity.

Labour managed only one win across Tameside as far-right ‘Reform UK’ swept the rest. The single win was in St Peters. Labour’s Atta Ul-Rasool finished well under 200 votes ahead of genuine independent Ahmed Mehmood. Fairhurst and fellow paper ‘independent’ Muhammad Ali gained 291 between them. Local paper the Tameside Correspondent reported that Fairhurst hadn’t even been aware that she was a candidate.

Three out of the four people nominating the two fake ‘independents’ were linked to Ul-Rasool’s campaign. Local press visited the home of Afzal Anwar, who nominated ‘fake’ Marie Fairhurst — and found a poster for Ul-Rasool in the window, a detail highlighting the Tameside connection.

Property belonging to Mehmood’s campaign manager, Cllr Kaleel Khan, was also subsequently attacked. Khan said he is going to lodge an official bid to overturn Ul-Rasool’s ‘win’ for the Tameside election:

I will put forward a cross-party motion to challenge the election result, based on the fake Independent candidates that were planted by Labour in order to split the vote. I already have the backing of several parties on this.

Featured image via the Canary