UK Politics

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

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

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailGeorge Galloway’s deputy has refused to condemn the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel, in a sign of the controversy surrounding his Rochdale by-election win.As Mr Galloway prepares to return to parliament, the deputy leader of his Workers Party suggested Israel should have “expected” the attacks.Former Labour MP Chris Williamson also accused the government and Labour of “effectively facilitating the genocide in Gaza”.The former Labour MP for Derby North refused to condemn Hamas’ terror attacks His remarks were condemned by Labour’s Ellie Reeves, who said it was “utterly appalling” for Mr Williamson not to condemn the 7 October atrocities.It came as the Board of Deputies of British Jews hailed Mr Galloway’s election win as a “dark day” for the UK’s Jewish community.And the Campaign Against Antisemitism said Mr Galloway’s “endurance in our public life serves to exploit extremist sentiment and divide communities”.Following Mr Galloway’s win, Mr Williamson took to the airwaves to describe his boss as “probably the best orator in the world”.He also said Mr Galloway, an alleged antisemite notorious for stoking division and courting controversy, will “be able to speak truth to power” in Westminster.And, when asked about October 7, he refused to condemn the Hamas attacks.He 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 October 7 were killed by Israeli forces.Ms Reeves, Labour’s deputy national campaign coordinator, 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”.George Galloway declared his by-election win was ‘for Gaza’ in a challenge to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer Mr Williamson is a former close ally of Jeremy Corbyn and was suspended from the Labour party for claiming it had “given too much ground” and been “too apologetic” in tackling antisemitism.He is now the deputy leader of Mr Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain.The ex-Labour MP for Derby North had faced previous criticism for incidents of alleged antisemitism, including offering to host a parliamentary screening of a film by a Labour member suspended for claiming Jews had been the “chief financiers” of the slave trade.Mr Galloway won the Rochdale by-election 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, he 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.”Labour’s former candidate Azhar Ali, who was suspended for making antisemitic comments, came fourth. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email The United Kingdom is poised to hold its first election in five years in a country battered by a cost-of-living crisis, fallout from the Israel-Hamas conflict and deep divisions over how to deal with migrants and asylum seekers crossing the English Channel from Europe on small inflatable boats.Here is a look at the upcoming election and the biggest issues at stake. When is the election in the United Kingdom? Prime Minister Rishi Sunak can call an election at any time up to Dec. 17, with the election taking place 25 working days later. That means the last possible date for the election is Jan. 28, 2025.The timing of the election will be determined by Sunak’s calculation of what date will be most advantageous for the Conservatives. The most likely time for the election is in the autumn, according to the Institute for Government, a London-based think tank. But one can’t be sure. How does voting work in the United Kingdom? People throughout the United Kingdom will choose all 650 members of the House of Commons for a term of up to five years. The party that commands a majority in the Commons, either alone or in coalition, will form the next government and its leader will be prime minister.That means the results will determine the political direction of the government, which has been led by the center-right Conservatives for the past 14 years. Opinion polls suggest that Labour is currently in the strongest position. Who is running in the United Kingdom? Sunak, a former Treasury chief who has been prime minister since October of 2022, is expected to lead his party into the election. His primary opponent will be Keir Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions in England and leader of the Labour Party since April 2020.But there are other parties, some of which have strong regional support and could be crucial to forming a coalition government if no one wins an overall majority.The Scottish National Party, which campaigns for Scottish independence; Liberal Democrats; and Democratic Unionist Party, which seeks to maintain ties between Britain and Northern Ireland, are currently the three largest parties in Parliament after the Conservatives and Labour. Some observers suggest the new Reform Party, formed by Tory rebels, may siphon votes from the Conservatives. What are the big issues at stake in the United Kingdom? The economy: Britain has struggled with high inflation and slow economic growth, which have combined to make most people feel poorer. The Conservatives succeeded in meeting their goal of halving inflation, which peaked at 11.1% in October 2022, but the economy slipped into a technical recession in the last six months of 2023, raising questions about the government’s economic policies.Immigration: Thousands of asylum seekers and economic migrants have crossed the English Channel in flimsy inflatable boats in recent years, raising concerns the government has lost control of Britain’s borders. The Conservatives’ signature policy for stopping the boats is a plan t o deport some of these migrants to Rwanda. Critics say the plan violates international law, is inhumane, and will do nothing to stop people fleeing war, unrest and famine.Health care: Britain’s National Health Service, which provides free health care to everyone, is plagued with long waiting lists for everything from dental care to cancer treatment. Newspapers are filled with stories about seriously ill patients forced to wait hours for an ambulance, then longer still for a hospital bed.The environment: Sunak has backtracked on a series of environmental commitments, pushing back the deadline for ending the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered passenger vehicles and authorizing new oil drilling in the North Sea. Critics say these are the wrong policies at a time the world is trying to combat climate change. More