Green Manchester candidate vows review of police role in raids, if elected

Green mayoral candidate, Coggins

Greater Manchester Green mayoral candidate Geraldine Coggins has announced that she would join Green-led London councils in Lambeth and Lewisham in commissioning a review of policing in immigration raids.

Coggins announced the plans at a cost-of-living themed hustings organised by GM Coalition of Disabled People, Acorn Tenants Union, GM Living Income Campaign, and GM Immigration Aid Unit. As mayor, she would also be the Police and Crime Commissioner for the city-region. (Her full manifesto is here.)

Lewisham became the first council to pass a motion pledging not to use council resources or public money to assist with any raids “where legally possible” last Wednesday. This followed Lambeth’s announcement in June that it would commission a review of the council’s arrangements for sharing information and intelligence with immigration enforcement agencies. Both are now Green Party-run councils, as of May’s elections.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski has previously called Labour’s immigration policy plans “performative cruelty.” Those plans, hardened under Starmer, appear to be continuing under new PM Andy Burnham.

Labour candidate Bev Craig did not attend the cost-of-living hustings. Green sources say it’s the third such community hustings in a row that she has missed. This has sparked accusations of evading scrutiny and reinforced the idea that Labour feels more comfortable working with developers than listening to local people.

Reform UK’s candidate, mega-landlord Sian Astley, likewise dodged the climate, LGBTQ+, cost-of-living, and Muslim organisations’ hustings. It seems neither Labour nor Reform are eager to show up.

Labour and Reform dodge Manchester mayoral election community hustings

Green Coggins stands by migrant workers

In her announcement, Green mayoral candidate Coggins made clear that Labour is in the wrong:

From speaking to people across Greater Manchester, I’ve heard growing fears about the direction of Andy Burnham and Shabana Mahmood’s callous approach to immigration.

As Mayor, I will use my Police and Crime Commissioner powers to commission an urgent review of Greater Manchester Police’s role in supporting Home Office immigration raids. Greater Manchester residents should know how often our police are being asked to support Home Office immigration raids, why they are attending and how much officer time is involved.

Immigration raids are often violent and intimidatory and often involve demanding entry without a warrant. This manifests across Greater Manchester as stopping delivery riders under the guise of checking their vehicle license, turning up to shops and demanding to see people’s right to work, or turning up at their door demanding access. Many people have died in immigration detention centres.

INQUEST reported earlier this year that at least 31 detained migrants have died since 2017 in immigration detention centres and prisons. Half of those were never convicted of anything criminal.

It’s not only anti-Labour political opponents who believe that Labour’s approach to immigration has turned unjustifiably vicious. Even Burnham ally Angela Rayner, now his housing minister, criticised Labour’s new hostile environment-style policies and far-right pandering. Back then, though, she was a backbencher.

@TheCanaryUK Greater Manchester Mayoral Elections Hustings 2026

At the ACORN / GM Living Income /Coalition of Disabled People cost-of-living and affordability hustings

Also involved are the Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit

Labour + Reform nowhere to be seen

Suspicious! pic.twitter.com/mZ4qfUjYVq

— C.J.Mc. Baillie (@cjmbaillie) July 28, 2026

Green candidate Coggins went on to discuss the broader global picture in her statement:

People want a fair immigration system, not Trump-style immigration raids that pull local police away from fighting crime and damage trust between communities and the police. Our police should be focused on tackling violent crime, modern slavery and organised criminal gangs, not drawn into Home Office-led immigration operations.

I will meet with the Chief Constable in my very first week as Mayor to ensure that policing resources are focused on keeping our communities safe while maintaining public confidence.

I will also work with council leaders and community organisations to explore every lawful option to protect vulnerable people, strengthen trust in policing and ensure victims of modern slavery and trafficking are identified and supported. And on a national level, I will call on the Government to end the routine use of local police in Home Office immigration raids as a matter of urgency.

Greater Manchester is a proudly diverse and welcoming city-region. We will always stand up for safe communities, effective policing and treating people with dignity.