Gone are the days when the Green Party’s main concern was the Ozone layer. Ahead of today’s Gorton and Denton by-election, the Greens distributed leaflets and videos in Urdu urging voters to “punish Labour for Gaza”. Their keffiyeh-wearing candidate, Hannah Spencer, also says that a vote for her will “stop Islamophobia”.
It is shameless pandering to the Pakistani community, which is approximately 20 per cent of the population of Gorton and Denton. The strategy may be a shock for some but it shouldn’t be a surprise. In the 2024 local elections, a Green councillor celebrated his victory in the Gipton and Harehills ward in Leeds with a cry of “Allahu Akbar”, adding: “We will not be silenced. We will raise the voice of Gaza. We will raise the voice of Palestine.”
