John McDonnell: George Galloway will be ‘over the moon’ at Labour Rochdale decision
John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor, said George Galloway will be “over the moon” at Labour’s decision to withdraw its support for its Rochdale by-election candidate.
The Labour MP said the situation in Rochdale is “unprecedented”.
He told Sky News: “It is a total mess, it is absolute chaos.”
He added: “I should think George Galloway will be over the moon at all of this at the moment to be honest and I think there is a whole range of issues now that will be debated within the community about where people will go in terms of the votes on the day itself.
“I have never seen anything like this to be honest in the past. It is unprecedented.”
Mr Gallow is standing for the Workers Party of Britain at the by-election and he is campaigning against Labour’s stance on Gaza.
Tories label Starmer a ‘moral vacuum’ after U-turn over Rochdale candidate
The Conservatives labelled Sir Keir Starmer a “moral vacuum” after his U-turn on support for Labour’s Rochdale by-election candidate.
It was announced last night that Labour had withdrawn its support for Azhar Ali and suspended him from the party after he was embroiled in an anti-Semitism row.
Sir Keir had stood by him despite growing protests from the Jewish community and within his party after Mr Ali claimed Israel deliberately let Hamas massacre its citizens on Oct 7 to pave the way for attacking Gaza.
The Labour leader was forced into a U-turn last night after “further comments” emerged.
Richard Holden, the chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “Starmer is a moral vacuum – acting not out of principle but purely due to pressure.”
It is too late for Labour to replace Mr Ali on the ballot paper for the Feb 29 by-election because nominations have already closed.