The Publica has been provided evidence from undercover investigative journalists detailing an extremely close relationship between supposed “non-partisan” campaign group Hope not Hate, and the Labour Party campaign in Rochdale.
Hope not Hate, which describe themselves as “the UK’s leading campaign group against the far right,” and having their “roots firmly and proudly in the British antifascist movement,” are currently campaigning as a non-partisan group in a few constituencies for the UK general election, primarily targeting Reform UK and Conservative candidates.
In Clacton, they are running a targeted campaign against Reform’s leader Nigel Farage, and in Rochdale, they are campaigning against George Galloway, the leader of the Workers Party who was first elected under that banner in a by-election at the end of February this year.
Despite supposedly campaigning against the “far-right,” a lot of focus has gone to campaigning against Galloway in Rochdale, even though the platform of the Workers Party is avowedly socialist, supporting “an end to imperialist wars,” “free and comprehensive healthcare,” “full state support” for families, and “free, lifelong education and vocational training,” among other pledges.
As such, a number of investigative journalists went undercover in the Hope not Hate campaign in Rochdale, and discovered strong links and close relationships between Hope not Hate, and the campaign of Rochdale’s Labour candidate, Paul Waugh.
In hidden recordings, an activist for Hope not Hate repeatedly told undercover investigative journalists that he was a “campaigner and activist” for Labour.
“We just want to get Galloway out,” he continued. When the journalists asked if they were planning to go out with Paul Waugh to campaign, they said that they weren’t, as “the areas have already been covered by his regional support within the Labour party,” with the activists adding that “we kind of want them to win by a big margin.”
Hope not Hate legally operates as two separate wings, with Hope not Hate doing the campaigning, and the Hope not Hate Charitable Trust providing funding via the form of grants.
The Charitable Trust claims its aims include “research into the cause and effects of racial and religious prejudice,” and “the promotion of racial and religious harmony.” As such, the Charitable Trust has received hundreds of thousands of pounds from the British government in recent years.
Charities legally cannot be political under UK law.
Journalist Charlotte Gill argued in a post to X on Sunday that the Charity Commission is not “fit for purpose” for having not investigated Hope not Hate for “split[ting] into ‘HNH’ and ‘HNH Charitable Trust’, in the hope regulators will think these are different things (even though grants from the latter go to the former and they have the same purpose).”
As pointed out by the Guido Fawkes blog in March, each of the trustees of the Charitable Trust have “close links” to Labour.
These include a member of the party’s National Executive Committee, a former Labour MP, and a Labour donor. Guido Fawkes further noted that Georgie Laming, the Director of Campaigns and Communications for Hope not Hate, is also a former Labour councillor.
Further audio recordings reveal that the campaigners had a disdain for some of the areas in the Rochdale constituency.
When one of the undercover journalists asked a campaigner if they were going to head to one area, they said they wouldn’t, as it was “racist” and “probably a bit more UKIP” supporting.
Despite the touted level of campaigning that’s supposedly been taking place on the ground, the investigative journalists who went undercover into Hope not Hate told The Publica that their posts on social media declaring they had “multiple teams” campaigning in Rochdale did not match the reality of the situation at all.
“There was an underwhelming turnout of only three activists, including Lowles himself, a far cry from his bluff about having swept 22,000 households with five teams ‘’ploughing on’,” they said in a statement. “We aren’t convinced HOPE not Hate exists beyond the bare bones of its Labour core. This is certainly not a popular front.”
Speaking with The Publica, a senior Workers Party campaign official denounced Hope not Hate for taking money from the taxpayer while engaging in illegal and unethical partisan campaigning.
“It’s up to the Electoral Commission and Charity Commission to decide what to do with this information. If Rochdale Labour are campaigning in the guise of a ‘non-partisan’ pressure group acting under false pretences, it suggests a distinct lack of confidence,” the official stated.
“Labour knows they can’t win in Rochdale, and if these allegations are true, they’ve turned to underhanded, potentially illegal tactics to manipulate the election. The Workers Party remains confident that Rochdale will return George Galloway to Parliament so he can finish the job he started in February.”
