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Victorious George Galloway declared “this is for Gaza” as his party won the Rochdale by-election.Mr Galloway, of the Workers Party of Britain, won a 6,000 majority over his nearest rival in the by-election on Friday (1 March).In his victory speech, Mr Galloway said: “Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. 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.”He said he would put Rochdale councillors “on notice” that he intended to form a “grand alliance” to “clean the town hall up” at the local elections in May. More

Sadiq Khan has said he is “heartbroken” at Rishi Sunak’s lack of “leadership” over Lee Anderson’s comments, in which he claimed the London mayor was controlled by “Islamists”.The former deputy chair of the Conservatives was suspended by the party after refusing to apologise for the remarks.“I’ve had a number of emotions over the last six days. Sad, angry, frustrated, appalled, heartbroken,” Mr Khan told LBC on Thursday 29 February.“My sadness and my heartbreak is because people who we look to for leadership haven’t provided it. I mean Sunak, I mean the deputy prime minister, I mean the cabinet.” More

Rishi Sunak took aim at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer claiming the Conservative party “expels anti-semites, while he makes them Labour candidates” in a heated Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (28 February).The prime minister appeared to be referring to the Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali, following his comments on the Israeli-Palestine conflict.Mr Ali told a meeting of activists that Israel deliberately allowed the 7 October attacks by Hamas to take place in order to give it the “green light” to invade Gaza.Addressing Sir Keir, Mr Sunak said: “The truth is, his party is so mired in hate that despite three ex-Labour candidates standing, [Starmer] can’t back a single one of them.” More

Sir Keir Starmer taunted Rishi Sunak during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 28 February, by referring to the Conservative party as the “political wing of the Flat Earth Society.”The Labour leader said the Tories have been “claiming that Britain is run by a shadowy cabal made up of activists, the deep state, and most chillingly of all the Financial Times,” referring to Liz Truss’s comments at CPAC in the US.The former prime minister blamed the “deep state” for “sabotaging” her controversial tax-cutting plans from Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget. More

Rishi Sunak refused to reveal whether Nigel Farage would be joining the Conservative party after he was questioned by Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (28 February).Speaking in the Commons, the Labour leader said: “(Liz Truss) also claimed that Nigel Farage is the man to restore the Tory party, can the prime minister confirm whether he too would welcome Mr Farage back into the Tory fold?”Mr Sunak replied: “In our party we have a proud tradition of diversity and accepting everyone from every background, it is a proud record that puts Labour to shame.” More

Liz Truss should not have the Conservative whip removed as she “did nothing wrong”, policing minister Chris Philp told Sky News on Wednesday (28 February).Labour called for the former prime minister to lose the whip for her media appearances that caused anger within Tory ranks.Ms Truss claimed her efforts to cut taxes were “sabotaged” by the “administrative state and the deep state” during a talk at CPAC in the US.She also took part in an interview with Steve Bannon and remained silent as he described far-right figure Tommy Robinson as a “hero.” More

Lee Anderson offered a blunt response to journalists quizzing him on his future as he walked out of a building in London on Tuesday 27 February.The former Tory deputy chairman was suspended from the party after he refused to apologise for remarks that sparked an Islamophobia row.“What are you waiting here for?” he asked reporters after being questioned about joining Reform UK.He also refused to answer when asked again if he would like to apologise for his comments, or if Rishi Sunak was right to suspend him.Instead, Mr Anderson got straight into his car. More

Tory MPs, including prime minister Rishi Sunak and his deputy Oliver Dowden, have refused to explicitly describe Lee Anderson’s comments about Sadiq Khan as Islamophobic.The Ashfield MP received widespread criticism and had the Tory whip suspended after claiming the London mayor is being controlled by “Islamists”.Mr Anderson has refused to apologise and insisted he will be standing at the next election.Mr Sunak described Mr Anderson’s comments as “wrong” but he and a string of his colleagues have not explicitly said whether the remarks were Islamophobic or racist. More