Green Party prints ‘sectarian’ leaflets campaigning in six different languages ahead of local elections
The Green Party has been accused of sectarianism after printing election campaign leaflets in six different languages.
Flyers distributed on Thursday before election day carry the same message, written in English, Urdu, Bangla, Turkish, Arabic and Somali.
Deputy party leader Mothin Ali is pictured next to the text, which reads: ‘We must stop the reforms and reject Labour. Please vote Green on May 7.’
Mr Ali, who was elected as a councilor for the Gipton and Harehills ward of Leeds in May 2024, has been actively campaigning across the country ahead of election day.
Opponents have accused the party of “divisive” messages.
One person said on X: ‘Appeasing the sectarian mood.’
Another added: ‘They will soon run out of space on their flyers.’
But a third person claimed: ‘It doesn’t trigger me, it just goes in the bin.’
Flyers distributed on Thursday before election day contain the same message, written in English, Urdu, Bangla, Turkish, Arabic and Somali
Zack Polanski, Leader of the Green Party, and Mothin Ali, Deputy Leader of the Green Party, arrive for the Green Party Conference at the Bournemouth International Center on October 3, 2025
Earlier this year the party came under fire for publishing leaflets in Urdu calling on local voters to ‘punish Labor for Gaza’ during the by-elections in Gorton and Denton.
A translation of the leaflet read: ‘Give the shaky walls a push. Labor must be punished for Gaza.
‘We must defeat the reforms and vote for the Greens. To give Muslims a strong voice, give your vote to the Greens.’
At the time, the party insisted that “not all voters are native English speakers, so the Greens obviously want to be inclusive.”
A spokesperson added: ‘Our approach has been praised by local people who love their diverse community.
‘The Greens have been outspoken about the failures of the Labor government’s foreign policy on Gaza, and it is well known that many voters want to send a message to Labor for many reasons in this by-election.’
Mr Ali denied the accusations of sectarianism, saying that “the same slogans have been used to find a message that people can resonate with.”
Last week the Daily Mail revealed that a Conservative Party candidate had broken party rules on campaigning in a foreign language.
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Green campaign literature includes Urdu translations of messages, including this one highlighting that it is the only party that can defeat Reform UK
Despite leader Kemi Badenoch promising to ban election candidates from targeting voters with non-English messages, it emerged that one of her own candidates in a crucial target group had posted multiple social media messages in Arabic.
Natalia Awasty, who stood in the Church Street area of the Westminster municipality, had uploaded two videos exclusively in the foreign language to Instagram.
The Conservative Party said it had reminded the candidate of the rules and the posts were “subsequently removed”.
An AI-powered model predicted last week that the Labor Party would lose control of 50 councils after Thursday’s crunch vote.
Data insights company Bombe predicted that Reform would win the most council seats overall.
Nigel Farage’s party is expected to perform particularly well in working-class towns in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and northern England.
According to the research, they will also be successful in some urban areas, including parts of the Manchester region, Newcastle and the Midlands.
Meanwhile, the Greens are predicted to gain outright control – or become the largest party – in some inner London boroughs.
These include Lambeth, Lewisham, Hackney, Southwark and Greenwich, while outside the capital, Zack Polanski’s side are also expected to perform well in Manchester, Oxford and Cambridge.
Under the latest Bombe model, Reform will control a total of fourteen councils, while the Greens will control eight municipalities.
The Liberal Democrats are predicted to lose two councils and the Tories will lose three, while there could be a huge increase in the number of councils not under general control.