George Galloway wins Rochdale by-election

George Galloway is the new Member of Parliament for Rochdale, having won last Thursday’s by-election.

Galloway, who has previously sat as both a Labour and Respect Party MP, earned 12,335 votes. This was 39.7% of the total cast and nearly 6,000 more than any other candidate.

Local businessman and independent candidate David Tully won the second most votes. This marks the first by-election since 1945 in which the top two candidates were from outside the three major parties.

Galloway’s win marks a major overturn of the former Labour majority. The by-election was called after the death of Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd.

The campaign was one of the most divisive in recent memory, with both Labour and the Green Party withdrawing support for their respective candidates partway through.

On February 12, Labour withdrew its support for new candidate Azhar Ali after comments made about Israel and the October 7 attacks.

The selected Green Party candidate, Guy Otten, also had his party’s endorsement withdrawn.

Also on the ballot was Simon Danczuk, the former MP for Rochdale between 2010 and 2017. Danczuk, who was suspended by Labour in 2015, was selected as Reform UK’s candidate.

Danczuk accumulated just shy of 2,000 votes, finishing sixth. Galloway was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003 for his opposition to the Iraq War. He had previously been criticised for meeting Saddam Hussein in the 1990s.

Galloway has also divided opinion over his work for Press TV, Iran’s state-funded news channel, as well as Russian-controlled RT.

The day after the by-election, Rishi Sunak called a special press conference outside Downing Street, in which he described Galloway’s election as “beyond alarming.”

In Rochdale, the new MP has promised to improve health services, as the town currently has no A&E unit. He has also pledged to crack down on the grooming gangs with which Rochdale has become associated.

Galloway’s seat may not be retained for long in the face of a general election, which is due to be held by January 2025.