FURTHER to Cllr David Greenhalgh’s letter of February 42016, we are extremely disappointed that the Leader of the Bolton Conservative Party would make such outrageous and false accusations of undue pressure and coercion without a single piece of evidence to justify his unsubstantiated allegations.

As the electoral agent for the Conservative Party candidate, Ryan Haslam, Cllr Greenhalgh has resorted to manipulative mud-slinging to win votes. He has, with his wild and baseless allegations, failed to comply with the Electoral Commission’s Code of Conduct for Campaigners (the “Code”) and we will be looking at pursuing this matter further with the Electoral Commission and through legal channels.

The Labour Party is committed to fair and democratic campaigning in every election and is fully committed to the Code. Increasing postal voter numbers is a legitimate part of any election campaign because postal voters significantly increase the overall turnout. In a winter by-election this is particularly important where turnout can be as low as 14% (as in the Harper Green by-election of 2013) which is not good for democracy. Both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives have used postal votes in previous elections and we have never objected to them increasing voter turnout this way.

Members of the Labour Party have been working the streets of Crompton since the start of January 2016. We have knocked on over 3,000 doors canvassing, leafleting, connecting with voters and listening to their concerns. The vast majority of this has taken place in harsh weather conditions but the Labour Party does not shy away from hard work. Our teams, of up to 30 people at a time, have been seen across the ward and, contrary to Cllr Greenhalgh’s unfounded allegations, they have not discriminated in favour of or against any community. The Conservative Party and Cllr Greenhalgh cannot claim to have done the same because neither he nor his team have been seen on the streets of Crompton.

As the wintry weather will have a significant impact on turnout, our election strategy has focused on postal voter registrations for those voters living the furthest away from polling stations. We have also targeted our known supporters and contacted 1,400 postal voters, of all ethnicity, however we categorically do not collect postal votes, but instead remind people to post them back on time. Again, this is a legitimate electoral activity.

Following allegations over the weekend about the Portsmouth Conservative Councillor masterminding a dirty electoral campaign, it is apparent that the Conservative Party will stoop to any level to try to gain an advantage. At this juncture, we call upon Cllr Greenhalgh to offer a public apology to the people of Bolton for his Machiavellian attempt to try to win votes. The Labour Party’s strategy for Crompton will not be derailed and we will continue to focus on our campaign and our strategy until the polling booths close tomorrow.

Guy Harkin, Election Agent to Bilkis Bashir Ismail

Linda Thomas, Deputy Leader of the Labour Group

Nick Peel, Bolton Labour Party Election Co-ordinator