ROCHDALE, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 29: British Labor Party candidate George Galloway speaks after being declared the winner of the by-election in Rochdale on February 29, 2024.
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On Thursday, staunch pro-Palestinian leftist George Galloway won a chaotic by-election in Rochdale, northwest England, marked by conflict between Israel and Gaza.
The controversial former Labor MP, who ran as a Labor Party candidate, polled 12,335 votes with a majority of 5,697, giving his party its first ever MP in the UK House of Commons. This will be Galway's fifth constituency in 37 years, having now ousted his former party in three separate elections.
Galloway ran a campaign focused largely on the plight of Palestinians, appealing to Muslim voters who make up about 30% of the local electorate, many of whom expressed anger over the war in Gaza and the failure of the country's two major parties to push for it. Immediate ceasefire.
ROCHDALE, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 29, 2023: A man walks past an election banner for George Galloway as residents begin voting in the Rochdale by-election on February 29, 2024 in Rochdale, England.
Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Second place in the by-election went to an independent candidate, local businessman Paul Tully, who began his political career only four weeks ago but managed to obtain 6,638 votes.
The election in one of England's most deprived cities opened its floodgates when the main opposition Labor Party, which had previously contested the seat, withdrew its support for its candidate Azhar Ali after recordings emerged of alleged anti-Semitic comments.
With the party's support withdrawn as the election approaches, it is too late to remove his name from the ballot paper or for the party – which is the favorite to win the country's general election later this year – to put forward another name. candidate.
Without Labour's support, Ali received just 2,402 votes, behind Conservative Paul Ellison's 3,371, marking another poor showing for the ruling party which has suffered a series of by-election defeats over the past year.
ROCHDALE, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 19, 2024: People walk near pro-Palestinian graffiti in Rochdale on February 19, 2024 in Rochdale, England.
Christopher Furlong | Getty Images News | Getty Images
In his victory speech, Galloway directly attacked Labor leader Keir Starmer and Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
He said, “Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. You will pay a heavy price for the role you played in enabling, encouraging and covering up the catastrophe currently taking place in occupied Palestine, in the Gaza Strip.”
Starmer called for a “permanent ceasefire” after months of pressure from within his Labor Party and from the Scottish National Party in Parliament.
However, Labour's official position has been to focus on a sustainable, negotiated ceasefire agreed to by both sides of the conflict, rather than issuing demands for an immediate ceasefire to Israel without receiving the same guarantee from Hamas.
The by-election was called after the city's Labor MP Tony Lloyd died in January from leukaemia.
On Friday, the party apologized to the people of Rochdale for not putting forward a candidate, and the party's deputy national campaign coordinator Ellie Reeves told Sky News that Galloway was “stirring up division and fear”.
