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Britain’s opposition Labor Party, which was widely expected to win a general election in the coming months, lost one of its safest seats to a pro-Palestinian former member in a chaotic by-election.
Veteran left-winger George Galloway was elected to represent the Rochdale constituency with a majority of around 6,000 votes, vowing to be a thorn in Labor’s side over the Gaza war.
This by-election is a special election held outside the general election period, and the Labor Party endorsed candidate Azhar Ali after a video of him claiming that Israel was complicit in the Hamas attack on October 7 was leaked. It attracted particular attention because it had to be withdrawn. .
The comments completely changed an election campaign that began in the wake of the local lawmaker’s death. Labor initially supported Mr Ali and only withdrew his support, but the by-election was too close to field another candidate.
This created an opportunity for Galloway, who has a long history of campaigning in areas with large Muslim populations, to win over their votes.
In the days leading up to the by-election, the political editor of the popular British tabloid The Sun said: Discover campaign materials It was sent specifically to Muslim voters by Galloway: “The political class failed Rochdale, failed Britain, failed Gaza…Labour in government keir starmer They betrayed Muslims and chose instead to support Israel’s genocide in Gaza…I, George Galloway, have fought for Muslims at home and abroad all my life. And he paid the price. ”
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Labor has walked a difficult tightrope between not criticizing Israel and calling for a moratorium on violence. The issue of Israel is particularly sensitive because Labor was most recently embroiled in an anti-Semitism scandal under former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
CNN tried to contact Galloway’s office to confirm whether the campaign materials belonged to them, but did not receive a response.
Mr Galloway was expelled from the Labor Party in 2003 for opposing then Prime Minister and Labor leader Tony Blair’s support for the Iraq war.
He made a memorably defiant appearance before a U.S. Senate committee to answer accusations that he had profited from Iraqi oil sales, with the committee’s Republican chairman “howling like a schoolboy”. I accused him of being there.
While Galloway can always claim to be a supporter of the Muslim cause and the Palestinian people, he has been accused of using anti-Semitic tropes. He was fired by radio station TalkSport after tweeting: “No #Israel flags on cups!” It comes after Tottenham Hotspur, an English soccer team with strong ties to North London’s Jewish community, lost in the 2019 Champions League final. Mr Galloway had previously denied allegations of anti-Semitism.
He has also worked for RT and Press TV, state media owned by Russia and Iran, respectively. Both channels have had their broadcasting licenses suspended in the UK and have been accused of spreading propaganda.
Galloway’s victory, while remarkable in the context in which it took place, doesn’t necessarily say much about the general election that will be held at some point this year. Had Labor not had to abandon its candidate, it is likely that it would have retained the seat.
However, he warned Starmer and Labor of the need to screen candidates properly, as similar stories could be deeply damaging in the run-up to the general election.
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