British politics has hardly covered itself in glory in recent years. After the shame of the Corbyn years was punctured by the glorious Tory victory of 2019, we were subjected to a veritable gallery of disgrace: soaring immigration, Covid authoritarianism, Partygate, the Truss-Kwarteng interregnum, Gaza fanaticism. But the true nadir was the election of George Galloway in Rochdale.
When he gained the seat in March, against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, it was an expression of the homegrown anti-Western radicalism that has proved such a subversive force since October 7. During the campaign, the self-styled Workerâs Party leader dubbed himself âGaza Georgeâ, claimed the Hamas atrocities were âa concentration camp breakoutâ and described the terrorists as âfightersâ.
At his victory party in a local Suzuki showroom, his makeshift headquarters for the campaign, certain parts of the community celebrated en masse. âKeir Starmer, this is for Gazaâ, Galloway crowed, accusing him and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of being âtwo cheeks of the same backside.â Ascribing his victory to the mainstream partiesâ support for Israel, he added: âAnd they both got well and truly spanked tonight here in Rochdale.â Galloway, we feared, was here to stay.
We feared wrongly, and thank God for that. This was a triumph for Israel, for common sense, for Britain and for the West.
In retrospect, there were extenuating circumstances in the March by-election which were the fillip that made the unelectable briefly electable. Three weeks before the election, Labour had been forced to suspend its candidate, Azhar Ali, after he had been recorded claiming that Israel had deliberately dropped its defences on October 7 as a pretext for invading Gaza. Ali came a distant fourth, with just 7.7 per cent of the vote, allowing Galloway to sweep to victory.
Thankfully, his tenure didnât last long. What a difference a General Election campaign makes. Fast-forward to tonight and the urbane former journalist Paul Waugh won back the seat for Labour with a majority of about 1,400. Not a huge margin, to be sure, but enough to kick Galloway into touch. It clearly smarted: the trilby-sporting firebrand did not take to the stage for the results.
Britain, and especially British Jews, breathed a sigh of relief. For years, Galloway had worn his Israelophobia as a brazen badge of honour, a way of winning support from hardline sections of the Muslim community. He never deserved to be in public life. Now he has got what he deserved.
Gallowayâs history of Jew-baiting is long and disgraceful. Among his achievements were declaring Bradford an âIsrael-free zoneâ, appearing regularly on the propaganda mouthpieces of Russia and Iran, and being pictured receiving a Palestinian passport from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
The result today was a win for mainstream, tolerant Britain that can tell the difference between pockets of reactionary chauvinism and true humanitarian concern. But it was also a victory for Labour, in more ways than one.
Galloway was emblematic of Labourâs problem with Jews. More than a decade after he was expelled from the party in 2003, he said he would rejoin the party âpretty damn quickâ if Corbyn were to become leader. In 2015, he told LBC: âIâve always been a Labour man. I consider myself real Labour. Iâve never been a Marxist or a Trotskyist, or any other kind of ist, other than a Labourist.â
History did not end up unfolding entirely as Galloway had expected. But the fact remains that from his point of view, it was Labour that betrayed him rather than the other way round. Corbyn appears to feel the same way.
Galloway has been proven wrong tonight. It was shameful that he ever won the seat at all; it was shameful that he came so close this evening. But victories for the decent majority are few and far between these days, and we will take them with both hands when they come.
Good riddance, George Galloway. Indefatigability is all very well, but it turns out that there is more to winning the hearts of the British public than divisive identity politics.
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