Birmingham Council admits staff saw illegal family voting attempts at May elections - and endured 'aggressive' abuse from voters

Birmingham City Council has admitted its staff witnessed instances of illegal family voting attempts and endured "aggressive abuse" from voters at the May local elections.

Officials were forced to step in and separate groups of people who attempted to go into polling booths together, the town hall admitted after a Freedom of Information request.

Staff who intervened were then subject to verbal abuse and aggressive behaviour from voters, who were told the practice is illegal.

The council told the Daily Mail: "A number reported that families tried to go into the booths together, but when they were told not to - they went into the booths separately and voted independently.

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"The staff were occasionally verbally abused by electors about this – but they on the whole complied once they realised it was a requirement.

"In some instances, the elector required assistance, which was provided.

"This was supported by an Electoral Commission observer who reported that where more than one person tried to go into a polling booth, the Presiding Officer prevented this from happening, and was, on at least one occasion in their presence, subjected to aggressive behaviour as a result."

Reform UK said the authority's admission "confirms what many people already knew" about the widespread use of the practice.

"If this is what is happening inside polling stations, just imagine the potential for coercion with postal votes behind closed doors," a party spokesman told the Mail.

"The authorities can no longer turn a blind eye to these practices. If action isn’t taken now, then we will ensure it is after the next general election."

The revelation comes just months after fears of widespread family voting erupted after the Gorton and Denton by-election in February.

After polls closed, Democracy Volunteers, an observer group accredited by the Electoral Commission, sounded the alarm over "extremely high" levels of the practice across the constituency.

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Matt Goodwin was Reform UK’s candidate for the seat but fell short in his bid to become an MP as Hannah Spencer of the Green Party secured a comfortable victory.

In the days following the election, Nigel Farage wrote to the Electoral Commission watchdog, urging it to change its "grossly inadequate" handbook for polling station staff - which did not discuss how to handle "cases of undue influence".

The Reform UK leader warned that family voting is "rife in Britain’s Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities".

Greater Manchester Police later said they found "no evidence" of the illegal practice during the crunch by-election, despite the election watchdog's warnings.

The force concluded that the investigation was hampered by a lack of suspect descriptions and limited CCTV, leaving no reasonable lines of enquiry to pursue.

In response to the decision, Mr Farage made his feelings known, describing the police's conclusion as "not good enough".

He said: “Frankly, this is exactly the kind of establishment whitewash people are sick to death of.

“This isn’t good enough. We need proper oversight, real accountability and the courage to admit when something isn’t right, not another brushed-under-the-carpet report from the usual suspects.”

Ahead of May's local elections - which saw Reform UK make sweeping gains across the country - the Electoral Commission warned that spouses who pressure their partners over how to vote could face prison.

Niki Nixon, the Commission’s director of communications, said: “Anyone who tries to induce or compel someone to vote a particular way, or not to vote at all, is committing a serious crime that can result in a prison sentence.”

She also stressed: “Cases of reported fraud in the UK are very low, but we must not be complacent.”

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