The Board of Deputies of British Jews has condemned George Galloway’s by-election win as a “dark day” for the UK’s Jewish community, as Labour apologised for not campaigning against him in Rochdale.
Labour lashed out at Mr Galloway as someone who is “only interested in stoking fear and division” after he stormed to victory in the Rochdale contest.
The party had dropped its own candidate for making antisemitic remarks, leaving the door open for Mr Galloway, an alleged antisemite notorious for stoking division and courting controversy.
“Rochdale deserved the chance to vote for an MP that would bring communities together and deliver for working people,” a Labour spokesman said after the result.
They added: “George Galloway is only interested in stoking fear and division. As an MP he will be a damaging force in our communities and public life.”
George Galloway gave a victory speech after his Workers Party won the Rochdale by-election
And the Board of Deputies of British Jews said Mr Galloway’s victory in the Rochdale by-election marks “a dark day” for the UK’s Jewish community.
His Workers Party of Great Britain won with just under 40 per cent of the vote, a majority of 5,697 over second placed David Tully, a local businessman and independent candidate.
In his victory speech, Mr Galloway said: “Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza.” It echoed the message Mr Galloway sent upon his 2005 win in the Bethnal Green and Bow constituency, when he said: “Mr Blair, this is for Iraq.”
He added: “You have paid, and you will pay, a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.”
Critics have warned of the pervasive influence Mr Galloway’s return to parliament will have. And the Board of Deputies called for him to be “shunned as a pariah by all Parliamentarians”.
A spokesman said: “George Galloway is a demagogue and conspiracy theorist who has brought the politics of division and hate to every place he has ever stood for Parliament.
“His election is a dark day for the Jewish community in this country and for British politics in general.”
Meanwhile a spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “George Galloway is an inflammatory firebrand with an atrocious record of baiting the Jewish community.
“His endurance in our public life serves to exploit extremist sentiment and divide communities.”
Rishi Sunak has said the campaign for the Rochdale by-election was “one of the most divisive in recent times”.
Asked if Mr Galloway’s election win would inflame tensions, the prime minister said: “It was very concerning to see the reports of intimidation through the by-election, and by all accounts one of the most divisive campaigns that we’ve seen in recent times.”
And in a sign of the controversy to come after Mr Galloway’s return, his deputy on Friday morning refused to condemn the 7 October Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
Former Labour MP Chris Williamson, who was suspended from the party for claiming it had “given too much ground” and been “too apologetic” in tackling antisemitism, is now the deputy leader of Mr Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain.
The Jeremy Corbyn ally told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “You can’t expect to live in a situation where people have been oppressed for 75 years and not expect a reaction.”
“In international law, oppressed peoples have an absolute right to armed resistance,” Mr Williamson said, before going on to claim that the majority of those innocent people killed on 7 October were killed by Israeli forces.
Labour’s deputy national campaign coordinator Ellie Reeves said she was “utterly appalled by Chris Williamson’s failure to condemn Hamas attacks on the seventh of October, and likewise his failure to distance his party from the endorsement of [former president of the far-right British National Party] Nick Griffin”.
And Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said Labour had “let the people of Rochdale down because it didn’t give them a good enough choice”.
And, in a warning to Mr Galloway, Mr Burnham warned that he will “stand up to anybody who seeks to bring division or hate to our city region”.
Left-wing pressure group Momentum described Labour’s Rochdale by-election results as “self-inflicted”. A spokesperson for the group said: “This was a needless and self-inflicted loss for Labour.
Left-wing campaign group Momentum blamed the result on Keir Starmer’s ‘failure to stand with Gaza in its hour of need’
“First, (Labour leader Sir Keir) Starmer’s utterly factional selection processes resulted in a candidate who was clearly unfit for office. Then the Labour leadership tried to defend him as one of their own.
“Finally, Keir Starmer’s failure to stand with Gaza in its hour of need left the door open for George Galloway.
“To avoid any more damaging repeats, Starmer should end the factional abuse of Labour’s selection processes and stand up for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”
The Rochdale campaign has been mired in controversy and claims of intimidation and divisive tactics.
Labour withdrew support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, after a recording emerged in which he claimed Israel was complicit in the terrorist attacks of October 7, seeing Mr Galloway become the firm favourite for the seat.
Mr Ali remained listed as the Labour candidate as the party’s decision came too late for ballot papers to be changed.
Labour said it “will quickly begin the process to select a new Labour candidate for the general election”.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK also suffered a poor result in the seat, gaining just 6 per cent of the vote, much lower than its national poll rating of around 10 per cent. Leader Richard Tice claimed his candidate, former Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk, had received a death threat during the campaign and said his party’s campaign team had been subject to “daily intimidation and slurs”.
Pollster Luke Tryl, of More in Common, said the results were “terrible” for all the main parties. He pointed to the performance of second-place Mr Tully as almost more significant than Mr Galloway’s win.
“But the circumstances mean it is far more likely the lesson here is one about candidate selection and due diligence than about public opinion more broadly,” he added.
Ms Reeves said the party will not change its position on Gaza despite Mr Galloway warning after the by-election result it will pay “a high price” nationally.
She told Sky News: “We’ve set out our position on Gaza and that was adopted by the Commons just the other week.
“We’ve said there should be an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, that the loss of life has been intolerable, there must be no ground offensive in Rafah, aid has to be ramped up into the region, and, importantly, that we need to find a two-state solution.”
