George Galloway wins Rochdale seat by 12,335 votes after running on pro-Palestine campaign.

A left-wing United Kingdom politician has registered a landslide win in a parliamentary by-election on a platform promising to advocate for Gaza.

George Galloway won the seat in the northern English town of Rochdale after a fractious campaign, which saw the Labour Party withdraw support from its candidate over his anti-Israel comments.

Galloway won 12,335 votes compared with 6,638 for second-placed David Tully, an independent candidate. The former Labour candidate, Azhar Ali, came fourth after the opposition party pulled its support after he was recorded espousing conspiracy theories about Israel. Turnout was low at 39.7 percent.

“Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,” Galloway said on Friday, referring to the Labour leader who initially refused to call for a ceasefire in Gaza where more than 30,000 people have been killed in the past five months of Israeli bombardment.

Late on Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who supports Israel’s war, said the election of Galloway to a parliamentary seat was “beyond alarming” and accused him of dismissing Hamas’s October 7 attack.

  • Kusimulkku@lemm.eeEnglish
    31·
    10 months ago

    If Ukraine wanted to join they should’ve been allowed to. It’s their choice, not Russia’s. What are they, some sort of Russian vassal or something? It’s insane to justify a foreign invasion on the grounds that a country isn’t following a foreign policy that you’d want them to.

    I wonder why they wanted to join… And why Finland joined immediately after Russia attacked Ukraine.

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      16·
      10 months ago

      As you keep avoiding, and the main point, Nato promised Russia to not do that.

      If Russia would start putting Ballistic missiles in Mexico would that be fine with you?

      • Kusimulkku@lemm.eeEnglish
        3·
        10 months ago

        I just think it’s irrelevant. It doesn’t justify an invasion! There’s been a pinky promise after German unification 30 years ago (no actual treaties, nothing concrete) (E: even that level of assurance is debated) and that’s being used as justification over attacking Ukraine and annexing parts of it. Ridiculous. Not to mention Russia pinky promised not to attack Ukraine and they broke that. What now, is the US justified in attacking them? Of course not.

        If Russia would start putting Ballistic missiles in Mexico would that be fine with you?

        Sure. Would you say USA was justified in invading them over that? I wouldn’t. Not to mention USA invading if Mexico wanted to seek closer ties to Russia or China or whoever. That’d be an obvious violation of Mexican right of self-determination and imperialistic behaviour from USA.