With Labour withdrawing support for its candidate, Azhar Ali, at the 11th hour, the Rochdale byelection on 29 February has been blown wide open. The candidates on the all-male ballot paper include George Galloway, who has been canvassing support among the Muslim population, and the seat’s former MP Simon Danczuk, who has appeared as a last-minute candidate for Reform UK. Here’s a run-down of the candidates and what they stand for: Azhar Ali – Labour Ali has spoken out frequently about Palestine, going further than the leadership and calling for an immediate ceasefire. He is the leader of the Labour group on Lancashire county council, a former government adviser under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and has received an OBE for services to his local community. He described Rochdale’s late MP, Tony Lloyd, who died from blood cancer in January, as a “dear friend”, adding that he wanted to “continue his legacy”. But at 5.30pm on Monday, Labour pulled its support for Ali over controversial comments he had made about Israel. It had emerged over the weekend that he said Israel “allowed” the 7 October Hamas attacks to happen so the country could do “whatever they bloody want”.
Ali issued a statement “apologising unreservedly” for his words, and initially the Labour leadership stood by him – but when further comments emerged this week, they disowned him. It’s too late for Labour to remove Ali from the ballot paper, so he will still stand as a Labour candidate, but if elected he will have the whip removed and become an independent MP. Simon Danczuk – Reform UK There is talk that Labour members could switch their support to Danczuk, who is standing for Reform UK – the former Brexit party, led by the multimillionaire Richard Tice. He was Labour MP for Rochdale from 2010 until 2017 but was suspended from the party for sending explicit messages to a 17-year-old girl and blocked from standing again. Danczuk has described himself as “old Labour” and criticised Starmer’s politics for going from “work to woke”. He believes his ticket to success will be focusing on local issues in Rochdale, rather than the Israel-Palestine conflict. “It’s now a fight between Galloway, who will prioritise Palestine, and me, who will prioritise Rochdale,” he said on Monday. Iain Donaldson – Liberal Democrats Donaldson, a former councillor in Manchester for 19 years, is focusing on key Lib Dem byelection campaign issues such as the cost of living crisis, the NHS crisis and sewage dumping in Rochdale’s rivers. He has received the endorsement of Paul Rowen, who served as Lib Dem MP for Rochdale from 2005 to 2010, and who said Donaldson would be a “fresh start” for the seat. Donaldson has accused Labour of “taking people for granted”, while saying the Conservatives had inflicted the “double whammy of a cost of living crisis and an NHS on its knees”. Paul Ellison – Conservative Former Rochdale Man of the Year 2020, Ellison is making the most of his “Rochdale born and bred” credentials and homing in on local issues – improving the town centre, cracking down on antisocial behaviour and protecting green spaces. He runs a landscaping firm and is known for his efforts in bringing Royal Horticultural Society in Bloom initiatives to the town. He said he wanted to overturn negative perceptions of the town and instil pride in local residents. George Galloway – Workers party of Britain Former MP Galloway has focused his attention almost entirely on Palestine and has been seen walking around majority-Muslim areas of Rochdale in a Palestine scarf and megaphone calling on them to vote for him in the “ultimate protest” against Labour. His previous election campaigning has been known to stoke division, particularly along religious lines – in Rochdale, Muslims make up 30% of the population, and Galloway is targeting these voters.
Starmer’s refusal to back a ceasefire in Gaza, and the ensuing dissatisfaction, particularly among Muslim voters, has been used as ammunition by Galloway, but some question whether he has the widespread appeal needed to top the ballot. Guy Otten – Green party A retired solicitor and tribunal judge, Otten is the Green party candidate on paper only, after the party withdrew its support for him last week only days after he became candidate. This was reportedly in response to some remarks he had made on social media, criticising the Gaza conflict and “Islamic religion”. Otten said he would “leave the stage” after his party withdrew support, and has not taken part in any campaigning, hustings or media interviews since. Others Other candidates standing in Thursday’s election include William Howarth, a co-founder of Parents Against Grooming UK, and Rev Mark Coleman, a climate campaigner who spent five weeks in prison last year for taking part in an Insulate Britain sit-in protest in London. Local businessman David Tully is standing as an independent, Ravin Rodent Subortna for the Official Monster Raving Loony party, and Michael Howarth, a businessman who owns a number of bars in the area, is also standing as an independent.