LABOUR SLEAZE: Prominent Cllr Speaks Out As Residents In Peterborough Report Widespread VOTE FRAUD By Labour Party

THE Deputy Leader of Peterborough Council has spoken to VoteWatch about shocking revelations relating to vote fraud in the city – while Labour have once again been caught using a convicted vote-rigger to campaign for the upcoming local elections.

Peterborough, which has seen two former mayors sent to prison for electoral fraud and a Labour MP serving porridge for perverting the course of justice, has long been blighted by fraud and numerous scandals from its local Labour Party.

In 2019, the city – described by Nigel Farage as ‘another rotten borough’ – made national headlines after VoteWatch exposed MP Lisa Forbes and a string of councillors for using a convicted vote-rigger to help win their seats in local and general elections.

Today, VoteWatch exclusively revealed that the Labour Party are once again using Mahmood on their official campaign team in Peterborough, with the infamous crook even given a copy of the electoral register.

In 2008, Mahmood received a 15-month sentence for his part in a “systematic campaign of electoral fraud” in the city, and was imprisoned along with a Labour councillor and Peterborough’s former Labour Mayor, Mohammed Choudhary.

All three were convicted of forgery over a scheme to fabricate votes for the Peterborough city council election, the four-month case costing the taxpayer over £850,000 after the crooked trio were granted legal aid.

Speaking in 2019, former Peterborough Tory MP and staunch Brexiteer Stewart Jackson said: “Tariq Mahmood should not be involved in politics at all. He has a record for voter fraud and the fact that he is so close to the Labour campaign speaks volumes about the rottenness of the current Labour Party.”

Throwing her hat into the ring to join him was Conservative councillor Shazia Bashir, a former Labour supporter who has openly and bravely spoken-out for years against electoral fraud being allowed to go unchecked in the City. 

Bashir claimed that a few years ago she had seen electoral fraud first-hand in Eastern European and Asian areas of the city and firmly believes it still happens now.

She also claimed voters in Peterborough are told to take photographs to prove who they voted for, even though polling stations display signs stating that photography is forbidden.

During the 2019 by-election, observation group Democracy Volunteers sent a team of activists to the city who reported that they had “identified an emerging concern in the frequency in which individuals were observed to be photographing their completed ballot papers”.

Also sharing his outrage at the time was Cllr Wayne Fitzgerald, who slammed Labour’s use of a convicted vote-rigger – a fact they attempted to cover-up: “Tariq Mahmood is a villain and he was front and centre of the Labour campaign within the Muslim community” he said.

“We receive repeated reports of postal fraud and personation within the largely urban central parts of the city where the Labour vote is strongest.”

Today, the outspoken Councillor and Chairman of the Peterborough Conservative Association, spoke to VoteWatch to once again condemn Labour’s scandalous tactics.

“Voters should have 100% confidence in our electoral system and be certain that everything is above board” he said.

“Sadly, here in Peterborough it seems that is not the case as once again a convicted vote fraudster is seemingly involved in election campaigning for the Labour Party!

“We have already had reports of them harvesting votes from the public and particularly from those that are vulnerable and mostly EU citizens.”

“I myself personally knocked on a door only yesterday whilst out campaigning, and became very suspicious because the postal vote he had in hand was already pledged to the local Labour candidate and possibly in return for a payment of some sorts. In my book, if it smells wrong then it probably is.

“The authorities and the police do really need to crack down on this postal vote problem here in Peterborough and put some tangible resource into catching these election cheats.

“It is not acceptable to hand out bottles of spirits either from the back of 4×4’s on Election Day which I am told is another favourite trick from the Labour Party – we all know it happens and it should be investigated on the day at all Polling stations- it’s basic police work.”

In past elections, the Labour Party have been reported to police and election officials after engaging in numerous breaches of electoral law. This has included large groups of red-rosette-wearing ‘thugs’ loitering outside polling stations to intimidate voters, assaults on locals, intimidation and filming INSIDE polling stations, and allegedly trying to bribe voters for their postal votes, with one resident claiming that a Labour official offered her a new vacuum cleaner if she handed over hers and her friend’s postal votes.

During 2019, both Tariq Mahmood and Councillor Shabina Qayyum were reported to the police after an elderly lady from the Pakistani community accused them of attempting to forcibly steal her postal vote after walking into her home.

“Labour continue to make very poor choices when choosing their political candidates and activists here in Peterborough.” Councillor Fitzgerald told VoteWatch. “They really should get their house in order as they continue to work alongside convicted vote-riggers and other dodgy characters.

“Many will recall they defended their MP Fiona Onsanya to the hilt who was in the end deservedly jailed for lying. Plus their last and failed MP Lisa Forbes, now standing for council on May the 6th is a known antisemite who was, following an investigation, told to undertake “training”. I’m not sure she ever did!

“It’s also interesting to note that the Labour leader here in Peterborough, Shaz Nawaz, is a local accountant whose speciality is tax avoidance and advising his wealthy clients how to pay less tax – now that is irony coming from a so-called socialist.”

This month, two Peterborough councillors, Ed Murphy and Heather Skibsted, were suspended from the Labour party.

Cllr Skibsted’s partner, Alan Bull attracted controversy as a Labour Party candidate in 2019 when he is alleged to have said that the Holocaust was a “hoax”. His nomination to be a candidate was reportedly proposed by Cllr Ed Murphy and Bull’s partner Cllr Heather Skibsted at the time, before he was later deselected.

The Labour Party are unwilling to confirm or deny that that their suspension is connected to allegations of anti semitism from the pair.

“Frankly, these people are not fit to hold public office and the public should get rid of them once and for all” Cllr Fitzgerald added.