Labour in chaos, accused of ‘throwing’ campaign to avoid fallout if they lose to Galloway
Labour has been accused of throwing the Rochdale by-election to minimise political damage, after rumours that it is about to suspend its candidate Azhar Ali over his social media posts about the 7 October raid, despite a grovelling apology.
Ali’s posts accusing Israel of complicity in the Hamas raid were leaked to hostile press, triggering an abject apology to ‘the Jewish community’:
Ali’s claim that Egypt said it informed Israel of the raid well before it happened is entirely true. However, his willingness to stand for a party led by Keir Starmer, who has supported Israel’s ‘right’ to commit its war crimes against the Palestinians has already seen videos posted of him being ordered to leave doorsteps during his attempts to campaign. Such has been the contrast with the reception given to Workers Party GB leader George Galloway, a firm supporter of the Palestinians, that Galloway’s odds to win the by-election have been slashed from 16-1 to 2-1.
Suspending Ali would effectively end Labour’s campaign in the by-election, with no possibility to stand another candidate less than three weeks before polling day. Cynics have pointed out that the political fallout from exiting the election would be less damaging than Galloway beating Ali in a fair fight and accused the party of engineering the default. What is clear, however, is that Labour is once again in complete chaos.
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