The by-election in Rochdale next Thursday is shaping up to be one of the most interesting and unpredictable in recent history. Triggered by the death of widely-respected Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd, the majority of the electorate are Muslim, making up around 30%, with many angered by the recent situation in Gaza. This has led independent candidate and former MP George Galloway to step up his campaign and challenge Labour’s official candidate Azhar Ali.
Labour’s candidate has faced a painful campaign. First he was disowned by the party when an allegedly anti-Semitic recording of him making inappropriate comments emerged. Then members in the town were told to stop campaigning for him, the shutters came down on the party’s campaign headquarters, and Labour’s leader Keir Starmer called for an ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’ in Gaza. Due to ballot paper deadlines, however, Azhar Ali officially remains Labour’s candidate. If he should win, he will sit in the Commons as an independent.
Despite the controversy, Rochdale’s historical reputation and recent makeover are not lost on voters prior to the election. The town hall has just undergone a £20m makeover and the town centre boasts of new shopping centres. However, poor housing, social deprivation and crime are still an issue, along with the dark statistic of child sexual exploitation and grooming. Not all voters are confident that any of the candidates will be capable of tackling these issues.
According to area resident Shakeel, who is a mental health nursing student and volunteers at a local soup kitchen, George Galloway has listened to the views of the community. His campaign speeches demonstrate that he wants to tackle the town’s social problems, reinvigorate the local hospital’s maternity ward and rescue the local football club, Rochdale AFC. Many young Muslim voters have therefore been energised by his campaign. In comparison, the former Labour MP Simon Danczuk views Galloway as primarily focusing on the minority Muslim community and ignoring what he claims is the majority of working-class white voters
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