George Galloway’s stunning victory in the Rochdale by-election is nothing less than a humiliation for Sir Keir Starmer.
Despite riding high in the opinion polls and benefiting from local affection for the late MP Sir Tony Lloyd, the Labour leader somehow contrived to lose a safe seat to one of the most toxic figures in British politics.
Galloway, who ran on a pro-Gaza, anti-Starmer platform, claimed his victory marked a shift which could be replicated in ‘a score of constituencies’. He said: ‘Labour is on notice that they have lost the confidence of millions of their voters who loyally and traditionally voted for them.’
In raw electoral terms that is pushing it. Galloway’s ‘Workers’ Party’ is little more than a vehicle for his own ambitions. It has few resources and fewer candidates – and none with his unique gift for rabble-rousing.
Workers Party of Britain candidate George Galloway speaks after being declared the winner in the Rochdale by-election
The Workers’ Party could deprive Starmer of thousands of votes. Sir Keir Starmer seen the morning after George Galloway won the election
Deputy Labour Party leader Angela Rayner, speaks at the Convention of the North
Elections expert Professor Sir John Curtice said it was ‘unlikely’ anyone would be able to repeat the trick and take a Labour seat. But that is not the whole story.
The Workers’ Party won’t win a string of Labour seats at the election. But it could deprive Starmer of thousands of votes – and it will place him under pressure over Gaza.
The result is a reminder that Gaza has become a live rail for the Labour Party. And given the crisis is not going away, Starmer needs to find a better way of managing his party’s approach if he wants to avoid more shocks. In the run-up to yesterday’s vote, one senior Labour figure told the Mail Rochdale was ‘the litmus test for whether the party can hang on to the Muslim vote’.
Labour candidate for Rochdale, Azhar Ali, who was revealed to have made anti-Israel comments
The ex-Labour MP and Celebrity Big Brother contestant pictured voting in Rochdale on Thursday
In the event, Labour’s vote simply collapsed, plunging from more than 50 per cent of the vote in 2019 to just 7.7 per cent.
There were unique factors in Rochdale, but these were largely of Labour’s own making. In its rush to hold the by-election before Galloway could gain momentum, Labour failed to do due diligence on its own candidate.
Azhar Ali, a local Labour council leader, had been considered a safe pair of hands. But diligent work by The Mail on Sunday revealed he had embarked on an anti-Israel and, in parts, anti-Semitic rant in front of other senior members of the North West Labour Party, none of whom batted an eyelid.
Even then, Labour initially backed him, before finally withdrawing support, albeit too late to prevent him being identified as the Labour candidate on the ballot paper. The other consequence of Galloway’s victory will be to inflame the already toxic public debate over Gaza.
His charmless deputy Chris Williamson – another former Labour MP – set the tone when he refused to condemn Hamas for the October 7 attacks on Israel.
Galloway has described the slaughter as a ‘concentration camp breakout’.
No wonder the British Board of Deputies described his victory as a ‘dark day’ for British Jews. Many will believe they could have gone further and described it simply as a dark day for Britain.
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