'Fake candidate plot' was 'discussed in Angela Rayner's kitchen while she was in the house', former Labour campaigner claims

By JAMES TOZER, NORTHERN CORRESPONDENT Published: 18:40, 22 May 2026 | Updated: 18:51, 22 May 2026 An alleged plot to fix an election result so a Labour candidate would win was discussed in Angela Rayner’s kitchen while she was at home, a former activist has claimed. Police are currently investigating allegations that Atta Ul-Rasool, regarded as a ‘protégé’ of the former deputy prime minister, benefited from fake candidates being nominated in order to split the vote against him. He was Labour’s only victor in a disastrous set of results at the party’s former stronghold of Tameside – which encompasses Ms Rayner’s Ashton-under-Lyne constituency – on May 7, with all the other seats up for grabs won by Reform UK. On Thursday police arrested five people on suspicion of election fraud over the allegations. Phil Wilson-Marks, a former vice-chairman of Ms Rayner’s constituency party, claims he was approached by local Labour councillor Vimal Choksi MBE during a social gathering at her home in the summer of 2025. ‘There was a lot of worry at the time about the rise of Reform, and Labour’s vote collapsing,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘It was suggested to me that we could put up an independent candidate as a spoiler and split the anti-Labour vote. ‘Angela was definitely in the house at the time, but she wasn’t involved in the conversations I had at all. Atta Ul-Rasool, the Tameside Labour councillor whose election victory is under scrutiny,  (centre) pictured with Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner Mr Ul-Rasool (fourth from right, dressed in beige) accompanied by Ms Rayner during his campaign ahead of the local elections on May 7 ‘I dismissed the idea as dishonest, and it’s one of the reasons I subsequently left the Labour Party.’ Mr Wilson-Marks later joined the Green Party, standing unsuccessfully in a different Tameside ward. Ms Rayner has previously dismissed the idea that she was involved in any planting of fake candidates as 'obvious nonsense'. She is understood to be adamant that she was not involved in, or aware of, any alleged wrongdoing. Mr Choksi has previously described the claims as ‘bonkers’ and said installing fake candidates would only have diluted the party’s vote. Mr Ul-Rasool, who is understood to work in Ms Rayner’s constituency office, won the vote in St Peter’s ward by just 177 votes. One of the independent candidates, Marie Fairhurst, who is described as vulnerable, is said by friends to have been unaware that she was on the ballot paper. She and the other alleged fake candidate received a total of 291 votes between them – despite not campaigning or attending the count. Police have arrested five people over allegations of fraud in elections to Angela Rayner's local council. A spokesman for Ms Rayner, who represents the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency, previously dismissed the idea she was involved as 'obvious nonsense' Three out of the four ‘assentors’ who put the alleged fake candidates’ names forward for the poll were pictured at Mr Ul-Rasool’s campaign launch in March, the Manchester Mill website previously revealed. It is understood Labour does not believe any party figures were among those arrested, and regards the allegations that 'bogus independent candidates' were stood as 'baseless and untrue'. A Labour Party spokesman said: 'No evidence has been presented of any Labour Party involvement in these allegations. 'We categorically reject any suggestion that the Party was involved.' Mr Choksi and Mr Ul-Rasool have been approached for comment. On Thursday Greater Manchester Police said four men and a woman - aged between 23 and 47 - had been arrested as part of an investigation into the process of how candidates were put forward. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.