Why is UK’s Green Party using Urdu in campaign video, leaflets? What we know
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Why is UK’s Green Party using Urdu in campaign video, leaflets? What we know")
Hannah Spencer, Green Party candidate for Gorton and Denton by-election Photograph: (X/@McrGreenParty)
Green Party activists in Gorton and Denton ran an Urdu-language campaign targeting Muslim voters, criticising Labour and Reform over Gaza.
Green Party activists have gotten attention for pushing their campaign in Urdu, targetting Muslim voters in the Gorton and Denton by-election. Hannah Spencer, the Green hopeful, is seen in videos speaking in Urdu and visiting local businesses in Greater Manchester’s constituency as she attacks the Reform and Labour party rivals. The polling is set to take place on Thursday (Feb 26).
In the campaign leaflets, which are written in both English and Urdu, Spencer is seen wearing a red and black keffiyeh, a traditional Middle Eastern scarf often worn to show support for Palestinians, over her shoulders as she poses in front of a mosque.
“Push the falling walls one more time. Labour must be punished for Gaza. Reform must be defeated and Green must be voted for. Vote for the Green Party for a strong voice for Muslims,” the party’s pamphlet in Urdu read.
It adds in English: “Stop Islamophobia. Stop Reform.”
More than a quarter of Gorton and Denton’s 76,000 potential voters are of Muslim heritage, while 19.2 per cent of those are believed to have Pakistani roots. The use of Urdu, the national language of Pakistan and an official language in India, is aimed at gaining the support of the Muslim voters in the constituency.
The video released by the Green Party in Urdu also included an image of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer shaking hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among other world leaders.
The Telegraph reported that leaked text messages from the Gorton and Denton Green campaigns revealed party activists were planning to target Muslims “outside mosques” during Ramzan.
“This is also the final Friday of the campaign, which means it’s the final Jummah (Friday prayers),” the message reads. “It’s also Ramadan, which makes our efforts today to leaflet outside mosques and reach out to the Muslim community even more important.”
The Green Party also released a campaign video in Bangla after being slammed by the right wing for their campaign video in Urdu.
