Candidate probed over free cake for voters claim

Aisha Iqbal and Steve Jones - BBCNews
·2 min read

Police are looking into whether an election candidate may have broken electoral law by suggesting people might get free cake if they voted for him.

West Yorkshire Police said it was making inquiries after a video was posted on TikTok by Muhammed Ali Islam, an independent candidate in the Bradford West constituency.

In the now-deleted video, Mr Islam said: "Quote me when you get your cake and hopefully you might get a discount."

Mr Islam, however, claimed his words had been "blown out of proportion" by his competitors.

Under the Elections Act it is illegal to "directly or indirectly give or provide any food, drink, entertainment or provision to corruptly influence any voter to vote or refrain from voting" - in an offence known as Treating.

In a clip shared by ITV News, the 21-year-old independent councillor for Manningham said: "All of you would have known that if you voted for me in the local elections then you would have got your free Matilda cake.

"Now if you vote for me in the general election, you might again get your free Matilda cake.

"Quote me when you get your cake and hopefully you might get a discount."

'Blown out of proportion'

Mr Islam told the BBC his words had been "misconstrued and misrepresented".

He added: "I support all local businesses, that's the type of person I am, especially in Bradford West."

He claimed the video had been "blown out of proportion" by "competitors and opposition that are trying to bring me down".

Mr Islam also said he would also continue as a councillor if elected as an MP.

"I can do so much more for my community as a parliamentarian and a councillor," he added.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson told the BBC: "We have been made aware of a video circulating on social media and will be making further enquiries to identify any potential electoral offences."

The BBC has also contacted Bradford Council for comment.

The candidates running in Bradford West are:

Akeel Hussain (Independent)

Imad Uddin Ahmed (Liberal Democrats)

Jamie Hinton-Wardle (Reform UK)

Khalid Mahmood (Green)

Muhammed Ali Islam (Independent)

Naz Shah (Labour)

Nigel Moxon (Conservative)

Umar Ghafoor (Independent)

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