A SIXTH person has been arrested as part of an ongoing police investigation into alleged offences linked to this year’s local elections in Tameside.
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed that a 25-year-old man was arrested in Ashton-under-Lyne on Tuesday morning (July 13) on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. He has since been released on police bail while enquiries continue.
The investigation centres on allegations relating to the local elections held on May 7 and is focused on St Peter’s ward, where the appearance of independent candidates Muhammad Ali and Marie Fairhurst on the ballot paper prompted questions in the run-up to polling day.
When the election results were declared, the reading out of the pair’s names was met with shouts of “fake” from members of the public, including supporters of another independent candidate, Ahmed Mehmood.
Labour’s Atta Ul-Rasool ultimately won the ward with a majority of 177 votes. Marie Fairhurst received 174 votes, while Muhammad Ali polled 117.
The latest arrest comes almost two months after five other people – four men and a woman, aged between 23 and 47 – were detained at addresses across Tameside on May 21.
Police have also confirmed that the five previously arrested in connection with the investigation remain on bail pending further enquiries.
Concerns were first raised in the days before and after the election, with reports made to police regarding candidates standing in St Peter’s ward.
It is understood detectives are examining how candidates were nominated and represented during the election process, and whether all relevant rules were followed.
The inclusion of Marie Fairhurst on the ballot paper attracted particular attention after a woman with the same name, from Whiteacre Road in Ashton-under-Lyne, was left confused by the situation.
A friend, who said she knows the 59-year-old personally, previously told The Correspondent that she had never intended to stand for election.
The friend said she had “never signed up to be a councillor, let alone run to be a candidate”.
The woman in question admitted two counts of fly-tipping at Tameside Magistrates’ Court in September 2024 after incidents on Russell Street and Stanhope Street.
According to her friend, the publicity surrounding the election had left “a 59-year-old woman with learning difficulties and lives alone” caught up in controversy.
Speaking to The Correspondent, the friend said: “It could bring negativity to a woman’s house that has nothing to do with running as a candidate.
“Yes, the Marie I know did fly tip back in 2024 and has also paid off the fine, so that could be where they mistakenly got her name or deliberately.
“Either way, it’s wrong and my friend is upset. She has no clue what any of this is about.”
Police say multiple lines of enquiry have already been carried out and that officers remain in contact with the Electoral Commission and local partners as the investigation continues.