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George Galloway has won the by-election in Rochdale with a majority of 5,697.
The Workers Party candidate pulled in 12,335 votes, with the second-place candidate, David Tully, coming in with 6,638.
Some 39.7 per cent of Rochdale residents turned out to vote.
The Tory candidate Paul Ellison came in third place with 3,731 (-11,076)
Breaking down the results further by the percentage of the vote, Galloway received: 39.7 per cent, Tully received 21.3 per cent, Ellison received 12.0 per cent, Azhar Ali received 7.7 per cent, Iain Donaldson received 7.0 per cent, and Simon Danczuk received 6.3 per cent.
The by-election has been largely dominated by the conflict in Gaza with two candidates from both Labour and the Greens having support withdrawn by their parties over comments made in relation to the Israel-Hamas war.
Both Azhar Ali, the former Labour candidate, and Guy Otten, the former Green candidate, had their endorsements revoked after both candidates made inappropriate comments about Israel.
Tory candidate Paul Ellison also faced criticism for going on holiday during the campaign.
Reform UK’s candidate Simon Danczuk came as a surprise as well after he represented Labour in the Rochdale seat from 2010 to 2017.
However during the counting, Reform leader Richard Tice issued a statement claiming his candidate had experienced “death threats and abuse”.
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George Galloway built his campaign around the Gaza conflict
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He said: “Our candidates and campaign team have been subjected to racist death threats, racist abuse, refused entry to hustings in council buildings and had to be relocated for their own safety.
“They have suffered daily intimidation and slurs. I’ve already removed all of my staff from this count.
“In one incident, Reform UK business supporters were threatened with a fire bomb attack if they just if they distributed our leaflets. Menacing behaviour became a feature of this entire campaign including today outside polling stations in the ugliest of contexts.”
Tonight’s results also come as an upset for Keir Starmer as Rochdale has been a safe Labour seat for years.
The by-election in Rochdale was sparked after veteran Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd died on January 17PAThe by-election in Rochdale was sparked after veteran Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd died on January 17 just days after announcing he had an incurable form of leukaemia.
In 2019, Lloyd snatched victory with a healthy majority of just under 10,000 votes and a share of more than 51 per cent.
Eleven candidates were on the ballot Azhar Ali (Labour), Mark Coleman (Independent), Simon Danczuk (Reform UK), Iain Donaldson (Lib Dems), Paul Ellison (Conservative), George Galloway (Workers Party), Michael Howarth (Independent), William Howarth (Independent), Guy Otten (Green Party), Ravin Rodent Subortna (Monster Raving Loony Party), David Tully (Independent).
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