Labour has withdrawn its support of Azhar Ali as its candidate for the Rochdale by-election after his comments relating to Israel. The party has indicated that Mr Ali has been suspended pending an investigation after information was discovered about further comments he is alleged to have made. Labour has conceded that it is too late to replace Mr Ali as a candidate in the election.
Mr Ali has apologised for his comments. He had criticised Israel for a number of policies seen as threatening to Palestinians and had expressed concern about the number of Israeli politicians at UK events.
The by-election, which is scheduled for 17 March, is taking place due to the decision of Simon Danczuk to stand down as MP for Rochdale. There will be a large number of candidates representing seven political parties. The result may have significance for various political organisations as Rochdale is one of the towns in the north of England where the UK Independence Party (UKIP) has made in-roads.
Mr Ali is the chair of the Muslim Youth Foundation. He came fourth in the original selection process held to choose the Labour candidate for the by-election. When it was discovered that the chosen candidate, Liz McInnes, worked for the trade union Unison, she was declared ineligible to run. Mr Ali was then selected to represent the party
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