Today started with the by-election result in Rochdale. None of the major parties got a look in in what was previously a Labour seat.
Instead, George Galloway, who now represents the Workers Party of Britain, re-entered Parliament with a resounding win after a campaign in which the Hamas-Israel war was a running theme.
“Keir Starmer – this is for Gaza,” said Galloway, a former Labour MP, after polling 12,335 votes – nearly 6,000 more than any other candidate.
David Tolly, the candidate who polled second with 6,638 votes, is an Independent. The Tories came third – getting 3,731 votes; Labour, 2,402 and the Lib Dems, 2,164.
Labour had withdrawn support for candidate Azhar Ali over remarks widely alleged to be antisemitic. He’s since apologised.
Here’s a full look at the results:
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