In the United Kingdom, the Labour Party had been settling into a streak of calm election nights. A public weary of a Conservative government exhausted after fourteen years in power had delivered comfortable wins in recent ballots. Yet the party’s reception this Friday of a surprising late-night victory by former Labour MP George Galloway in Rochdale, a constituency in the Manchester metropolitan area, marked a chaotic turn that had started just weeks earlier. It began when Labour leader Keir Starmer moved to withdraw official support for his own candidate, Azhar Ali, after controversial remarks he had made about Israel surfaced.
Starmer chose this route even though the deadlines did not permit the party to field another candidate. Rochdale, a seat long considered secure for Labour, was forced into a by-election following the death of Labour MP Tony Lloyd in mid-January. With Ali effectively sidelined, Galloway surged to victory with around 40 percent of the vote, pushing the former Labour candidate into fourth place with about 7.7 percent. The consequences for Starmer proved more damaging than the problem itself: Labour not only sacrificed a safe seat, but also opened the door to a parliamentarian far more critical of Israel than Ali had been.
Contested seat
“Starmer, this is about Gaza. You have paid and you will pay a high price for the role you have played by allowing, enabling, and covering up the catastrophe unfolding in occupied Palestine,” Galloway said after confirming his victory in the early hours of Friday. The new MP has been a thorn in Labour’s side for years. He served as a Labour MP for 16 years until his expulsion in 2003 for allegedly bringing the party into disrepute, a move he attributes to his opposition to the Iraq War and to his criticisms of then-prime minister and party leader Tony Blair.
Following his 2003 expulsion, Galloway still managed to win a seat in Parliament in 2005 and again in 2012, running as a candidate for Respect, accumulating a total of 26 years as an MP. His political career also included a stint on the reality show Big Brother VIP, where he staged a memorable scene with actress Rula Lenska, pretending to be a cat that feasts from his hand. For years, Galloway has been known as a blunt, unfiltered politician, a reputation he reinforced this Friday with a nontraditional critique aimed at leaders of both major parties. “These are two asses of the same ass… And that ass was whipped and beaten,” he said of the Labour and Conservative leaders.
Apology bid
Shortly after results were announced, Labour issued a statement apologizing. “We deeply regret that Labour could not field a candidate in these by-elections and we apologize to the people of Rochdale. George Galloway won because Labour did not stand a candidate,” the party explained. “Galloway is only interested in stoking fear and division. As an MP, he will be a destabilizing force in our communities and in public life.” Labour’s aim is to wrest back the seat by presenting a new candidate in the general elections scheduled for later this year.
The Galloway victory has given new life to the tensions Labour leader Starmer faces within his own ranks over Gaza policy. The party’s left wing has criticized his reluctance to call for a ceasefire and his stern approach toward members who challenge his stance on Israel. In an effort to cool tensions, Starmer has called for a humanitarian ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Hamas, and an end to hostilities by both sides.
Nevertheless, concerns linger about potential electoral repercussions from the Muslim community, despite the exceptional circumstances of a by-election. The comfortable win in a constituency with nearly twenty percent Muslim population serves as an early warning to Starmer’s leadership about the risk of alienating a significant voter bloc.