George Galloway beaten by Labour in Rochdale seat just four months after shock by-election win
5 July 2024, 08:06
Veteran left-winger George Galloway has lost the Rochdale constituency just four months after winning the seat in a shock by-election victory.
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The leader of the Workers Party did not attend the count at Rochdale Leisure Centre to hear the General Election result.
After securing 11,587 votes, Mr Galloway was beaten by Labour’s Paul Waugh, a political journalist, who won with 13,027 votes. Reform UK's Michael Howard came third, with 6,773 votes.
Following defeat, Mr Galloway posted on X: "I thank the people of Rochdale who gave me 54 sitting days in the last parliament as their MP.
"Big thanks to my agent, my campaign team and the thousands who voted for me today.
"We took the government party to within 1500 votes and serve notice on Labour that we are here to stay in Rochdale.
"We will field a full slate of council candidates, establish a full-time office there, campaign to re-open the Maternity Ward and A&E, and keep up the pressure on Labour in the town."
The former Labour and Respect member secured a convincing victory in Rochdale in February after winning more than 6,000 votes.
He gained almost 40% of the vote in a contest that was centred around the Gaza war after Labour withdrew support for its candidate Azhar Ali over remarks widely alleged to be antisemitic.
After his victory earlier this year, Mr Galloway said: "Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside and they both got well and truly spanked."
Read more: Shellshocked Liz Truss motionless on stage as she loses to Labour by just 600 votes
Mr Galloway was a Labour MP until 2003, before sitting in the Commons as an independent and Respect Party MP for three constituencies between 2003 and 2015.
Palestine has been a major theme of Mr Galloway's political career, throughout which he has opposed British and US foreign policies.
