Markus Andrews

George Galloway hit back at Rishi Sunak’s claims that the Rochdale by-election had “one of the most divisive campaigns that we’ve seen in recent times.”The prime minister was asked if Mr Galloway’s win would inflame tensions, saying: “It was very concerning to see the reports of intimidation through the by-election.”In response, Mr Galloway said: “It’s just a lie… and moreover, it’s a lie for a patently transparent purpose – to deflect attention from the fact that for the first time ever in British political history, the big two parties of the state were both comprehensively beaten.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email A veteran left-wing British political disruptor has won a special election in a town in northern England with a big Muslim minority following a contest that was mired in chaos and controversy and dominated by the Israel-Hamas war.George Galloway’s victory was described as “beyond alarming” by Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who used a Friday evening address to the nation to warn that British democracy was being targeted by extremists.Galloway, 69, swept to victory in Thursday’s contest, winning almost 40% of the vote in the parliamentary seat of Rochdale.In his victory speech, the fedora-wearing Galloway took aim at Keir Starmer, the leader of the main opposition Labour Party, who according to opinion polls is likely to become the United Kingdom’s prime minister in the general election this year. “Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,” he said. “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.”Galloway, a former Labour member of parliament who was expelled from the party in 2003, also declared “Labour is on notice” and hailed what he called a “shifting of the tectonic plates.”Labour said that Galloway only won because the party pulled its support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, for suggesting that Israel was complicit in Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, which saw militants kill around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and take about 250 others hostage. In the absence of Labour’s backing and with many of Rochdale’s Muslim voters dismayed at the party’s reluctance to call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, Ali ended up coming in fourth. “Galloway only won because Labour didn’t stand a candidate,” Starmer said. “Obviously we will put up a first-class candidate, a unifier, before the voters in Rochdale at the general election.”Galloway’s victory means that from next week, Parliament will once again be home to one of the most eloquent orators from the left wing of U.K. politics, who will clearly use his position to raise his opposition to Israel’s operation in Gaza, which, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, has led to the deaths of more than 30,000 people.The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the largest Jewish community organization in the U.K., said that Galloway’s victory marks “a dark day” for the U.K.’s Jewish community.“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,” it said in a statement. The constituency of Rochdale has traditionally been a Labour seat. Galloway said that his Workers Party of Britain will contest similar seats in constituencies where there is a sizeable Muslim minority in the upcoming general election, which must take place within the next 11 months. The governing Conservative Party, which hasn’t historically performed well in Rochdale, came in third and voiced worries that Galloway’s victory will stoke tensions in the town and beyond.In an unexpected statement on Friday evening, Sunak made a call for unity while claiming that Galloway was a “candidate that dismisses the horror of what happened on Oct. 7, who glorifies Hezbollah.”Linking his victory with other divisive developments on the U.K. political scene since Hamas launched its attack and Israel’s subsequent response, Sunak said “our democracy itself is a target” for extremists, noting how some lawmakers in Parliament don’t feel safe in their homes and that local political meetings have been stormed.“In recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality,” he said. “What started as protests on our streets have descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence. Jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveals their identity. Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with.”He urged those joining the almost weekly mass protests against Israel’s offensive in central London and other towns and cities in the U.K. to do so respectfully, and said that his government would support police.Galloway poured scorn on a prime minister warning about democracy after he’d won an election. He dismissed Sunak’s central charge, telling Sky News that he does “not respect the prime minister at all” and that “millions and millions of people in this country despise the prime minister.” It’s not the first time that Galloway has created a stir since he began his political career a half-century ago as a firebrand left-wing Labour member of Parliament for a constituency in Glasgow, Scotland. In 1994, he faced widespread opposition for meeting then Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and telling him: “Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability.” In 2004, he returned to Parliament as a lawmaker for the anti-war Respect Party after a special election in a heavily Muslim seat in east London, but was defeated in the general election the following year. He was elected again in a special election in 2012, but lost his seat once more in the election of 2015. As well as being an eloquent advocate for his political views, which saw him take U.S. senators to task in 2005, Galloway has also courted ridicule, most notably in 2006 when he impersonated a cat in the reality television show “Celebrity Big Brother.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailRishi Sunak has called for the country to come together to beat the “poison” of extremists targeting democracy, in a hastily arranged press conference in Downing Street. In an extraordinary address to the public, he warned there were forces “at home trying to tear us apart’’ adding ‘we must face (them) down”. Just hours after the victory of George Galloway in the Rochdale by-election, the prime minister branded his win “beyond alarming”. There had been a “shocking increase” in extremist disruption and criminality in recent months, in the wake of the war in Gaza, he said, as he announced a crackdown. “What started as protests on our streets have descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence,” he said. “Jewish children fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveals their identity. Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with. Now our democracy itself is a target.” He cited council meetings and local events which have been targeted, said MPs do not feel safe in their own homes and long-standing parliamentary conventions had been “upended” because of safety concerns.”And it’s beyond alarming that last night, the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate that dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP.”Mr Sunak annouced ministers would redouble support for the anti-terrorism Prevent programme, demand universities stop extremist activity on campus and prevent people entering the UK whose “aim is to undermine its values”.Home secretary James Cleverly has also been told that those in the UK on visas who choose to “spew hate” will have their right to be in the country removed.In a message directed at those taking part in pro-Palestine protests, he urged people to reject extremism.He said: “I want to speak directly to those who choose to continue to protest: don’t let the extremists hijack your marches.“You have a chance in the coming weeks to show that you can protest decently, peacefully and with empathy for your fellow citizens.“Let us prove these extremists wrong and show them that even when we disagree, we will never be disunited.”More demonstrations are planned for this weekend before another national march takes place in central London on March 9.Keir Starmer backed Mr Sunak’s intervention, saying: “The Prime Minister is right to advocate unity and to condemn the unacceptable and intimidatory behaviour that we have seen recently.” But Conservative peer Lord Vaizey said “many in the Tory party should look to themselves” when it comes to the toxification of public life.And the Liberal Democrats said the British people would ‘take no lessons from a Conservative party who have sowed the seeds of division’ over issues including plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda. Mr Sunak’s comments came just hours after Mr Galloway’s victory in the chaotic by-election was branded a “dark day for Jewish community”.Earlier this week the prime minister claimed the UK was descending into “mob rule” as he warned police must take urgent action or risk losing public confidence.The prime minister demanded a crackdown on protests as he said he would do “whatever it requires to protect our democracy”.And he told police chiefs during a meeting in Downing Street that they had to demonstrate they would “use the powers you already have”. Tensions have been heightened by protests over the war in Gaza, as MPs face intense pressure to back calls for a ceasefire.Mr Sunak has previously condemned an “aggressive mob” of pro-Palestinian protesters at the home of Tory MP Tobias Ellwood. There were also angry and chaotic scenes at Westminster last week after the Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle was accused of ripping up the parliamentary rule book over a ceasefire vote, because of concerns over what he said were “frightening” threats against MPs. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, a veteran Cuban dissident who never left the island despite being imprisoned twice and accused of being a United States agent, will be awarded the 2024 International Women of Courage Award, the U.S. Department of State said Friday.Roque, 78, who spent decades protesting against her country’s single-party model, said she will not be able to receive the prize in person because she has been “regulated” since 2018, meaning that she is prevented from leaving the island and cannot get a passport.“I am very happy about this award. I’m grateful to the United States embassy in Cuba that put forward the proposal,” Roque told The Associated Press in a recent interview at the residence of a U.S. official on the island. “At least it is a way of saying ‘you have spent 35 years working for Cuban democracy.’”The IWOC Award, now in its 18th year, recognizes women from around the world who have “demonstrated exceptional courage, strength and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equity and equality,” according to the U.S. State Department.Roque, an economist by profession, worked for the Cuban government before a political rupture that drew international attention in 1997 when, together with three other Cubans — Félix Bonne, René Gómez Manzano and Vladimiro Roca — she created the Internal Dissidence Working Group and signed a declaration titled “The Homeland belongs to everyone,” calling for political and economic openness.The so-called “Group of Four” ended up in court and Roque was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on charges of attacking State security and sedition. She was released in May 2000 but continued her activism and in 2002 formed The Assembly to Promote Civil Society.In March 2003, Roque was the only woman arrested — among 75 people — during a roundup of dissidents whom the government accused of accepting financing from the U.S. government and interest groups.She received a sentence of 20 years in prison in a trial in which the strongest witness against her was her own assistant, Aleida Godínez, who then identified herself as a government security agent. In July 2004 Roque was released — but not exonerated — for medical reasons.The European Union and organizations such as Amnesty International pressed for the release of the 75 prisoners who were finally released — the last in 2011 — under a deal brokered by the Roman Catholic Church and the government of Spain. Many went into exile with their families.Today, away from public view, Roque says she regrets that the record migration from the island is holding up the creation of a real opposition and says that her legacy as a veteran dissident is precisely her staying in the country.“As part of the old opposition, we are going to leave behind an example because not everyone (the dissidents) left, but almost everyone went to prison,” she said.Roque also expressed regret about some of the radical comments she made during her life as a dissident, like saying she didn’t care if the U.S. invaded Cuba to overthrow the government.“I am not the person I was 15 or 20 years ago … and my experience would make me not say things that I said in the past,” Roque told the AP. “I firmly think that the solution for the people of Cuba is here, inside the country, just as other countries have come to solve their dictatorial problem.”____Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america More

Rishi Sunak has announced the government will “back” police if they take stronger action at protests.The prime minister spoke about efforts to protect democracy and crack down on extremism on Friday 1 March in a surprise address from Downing Street.“Recently our streets have been hijacked by small groups who are hostile to our values and have no respect for our democratic traditions,” Mr Sunak said.“This month, the government will implement a new, robust framework for how it deals with this issue, to ensure we are dealing with the root causes of this problem.”The prime minister added that he will “demand universities stop extremist activities on campus.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailWatch as Rishi Sunak addresses the British public from Downing Street on Friday 1 March.The prime minister’s remark touched on recent events – including in parliament last week – and “the need to protect our democratic processes”.Mr Sunak spent the day in Scotland, giving a speech to the Scottish Conservative conference in the afternoon.Shortly after the Tory leader had finished taking questions from party members in Aberdeen, No 10 confirmed he would be travelling immediately to London where he intends to make public remarks.While in Scotland, Mr Sunak urged voters to stick with the party at the next general election.He argued that his government was “starting to deliver” and used his standard attack line that putting Labour into power would “take the UK back to square one”.A contest to elect a new UK government is widely expected to take place this year, with an election legally having to be held by January 2025.The Tories are well behind Labour in opinion polls, with some putting Sir Keir Starmer’s party as much as 20 points in front. More

Sir Keir Starmer has said George Galloway “only won because Labour did not stand” in the Rochdale by-election.The Workers Party leader, who is one of Britain’s most divisive politicians, swept to victory in the greater Manchester seat, gaining almost 40 per cent of the vote in a contest mired in chaos and controversy and dominated by the Gaza conflict.Labour dropped its candidate Azhar Ali ahead of the vote for suggesting Israel was complicit in Hamas’ October 7 attack and have since warned Mr Galloway will stoke “fear and division”.“I regret that we had to withdraw our candidate and apologise to voters in Rochdale,” Sir Keir said on Friday 1 March. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe 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-electionAnd 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.” More