George Galloway has been celebrating his election win as Rochdale’s new MP with a chaotic victory party at a Suzuki car showroom.
The Scottish firebrand, 69, laid on cases of Irn-Bru for his supporters and even compared his career to Cristiano Ronaldo’s.
He said he would be looking to run for re-election at the general election in the second half of this year.
‘I’m like Cristiano Ronaldo, I’m reaching the end of my career,’ he said according to the Manchester Evening News.
‘But I’m ready to sign a five-year contract with Rochdale Football Club,’ he said.
George Galloway celebrating on stage next to his fourth wife, Putri Gayatri, at his by-election victory party as Rochdale’s new MP
The Scottish firebrand, 69, said he would be looking to run for re-election at the general election in the second half of this year
Mr Galloway’s win in Rochdale has sent shockwaves through British politics. Pictured: Mr Galloway speaking to his supporters at the chaotic victory party in a Suzuki car showroom in the east of the town’s centre
Mr Galloway, who has never drunk alcohol, treated his supporters to dozens of bottles of the orange Scottish carbonated soft drink Irn-Bru at the party.
His win in Rochdale has sent shockwaves through British politics, and caused Rishi Sunak to organise a rushed press conference on the steps of Downing Street denouncing the pro-Palestinian rabble-rouser.
In an emotional speech which referenced his own British and Hindu background, Mr Sunak laid into Galloway and said he ‘glorifies Hezbollah’ and has been backed by Nick Griffin, the far-right former leader of the BNP.
The news of the prime minister’s critical speech came as Galloway supporters continued their victory celebration at an industrial estate on the east of the town centre.
With scores of TV trucks with huge satellite dishes on their roofs parked outside the garage on Crawford Street had served as his campaign base during the tumultuous by-election.
Mr Sunak’s speech said the election was ‘beyond alarming’ and warned that British democracy is being targeted by extremists.
He cited rising anti-Semitism that has left Jewish children ‘fearful to wear their school uniform’ and Islamophobia that has seen ‘Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with’.
Speaking on Sky News, he launched a verbal attack on the Prime Minister at his chaotic victory party at a Suzuki car showroom
Galloway bizarrely compared himself to Cristiano Ronaldo, 39, who is currently playing at Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr
The Galloway supporters were treated to bottles of the Scottish carbonated soft drink Irn-Bru (stock photo)
The Prime Minister lashed out at the ‘alarming’ win by George Galloway in the Gaza-fuelled Rochdale by-election
Mr Galloway ran a Gaza-centric campaign to win in Rochdale and made several scathing remarks about the Prime Minister’s speech on Friday night
The PM said he would back police in taking a tougher stance against the ‘poison’ on the streets, adding: ‘We must draw a line.’
‘This situation has gone on long enough and demands a response not just from the government, but from all of us,’ he said.
‘I fear that our great achievement in building the world’s most successful multi-ethnic, multi-faith democracy is being deliberately undermined. There are forces here at home trying to tear us apart.’
‘And it’s beyond alarming that last night, the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate that dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP.’
Minutes after Mr Sunak’s speech was over, supporters gathered around as Mr Galloway went live on Sky News.
As Mr Sunak’s accusations were put to him, Galloway responded to journalists by saying don’t talk to him as if Rishi Sunak is ‘Moses’ and a cheer from his supporters broke out.
He then went on to say he ‘despised’ the prime minister as millions of other people do.
The PM said he would back police in taking a tougher stance against the ‘poison’ on the streets, adding: ‘We must draw a line’
Mr Galloway, one of Britain’s most divisive politicians, swept to victory in the greater Manchester seat, gaining almost 40 per cent of the vote in a contest mired in chaos and controversy and dominated by the Gaza conflict
When challenged by another broadcaster he asked if they were a Labour press officer and the mood turned sour as the audience became more hostile to the media asking questions.
Chants of ‘Free, free Palestine’ began to break out which drowned out the broadcasters.
During the party, Mr Galloway was repeatedly challenged regarding accusations that the by-election was marred by violent threats.
In an interview with Sky News, he said he ‘did not care’ about Rishi Sunak and said all he cared about was the returning officer who he said had ‘unimpeachable integrity’.
He said the returning officer declared the election free and fair and him as the winner and the media would need to ‘suck it up’.
Hundreds of people followed Mr Galloway around the room as he continued to take questions from journalists.
In reply to one broadcaster he said he did not understand Rishi Sunak’s suggestions that he ‘glorifies Hezbollah’ but hoped they could discuss it at PMQs on Wednesday if the Prime Minister ‘has the guts’.
Pro-Palestinian protesters gather at Parliament Square as MPs debated a motion in Parliament on calling a ceasefire in Gaza on February 21
Mr Galloway coasted home after Labour disowned its candidate in a normally-safe seat
In a speech to his supporters on a makeshift stage, he said most people had come for a victory party but the television cameras had come to question the result.
Mr Galloway, one of Britain’s most divisive politicians, swept to victory in the greater Manchester seat, gaining almost 40 per cent of the vote in a contest mired in chaos and controversy and dominated by the Gaza conflict.
The former Labour and Respect MP, who now leads the Workers Party of Britain, took aim at Labour Sir Keir Starmer leader in his victory speech focused on Palestine.
At 39.7 per cent, turnout was slightly higher than in the recent Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections.
And the scale of the victory raised questions about whether Labour would have been able to defeat Mr Galloway even if their campaign had not derailed.
Sir Tony had won Rochdale for Labour at the 2019 general election with a majority of almost 10,000 votes.
Labour has apologised to the voters of Rochdale for not fielding a candidate, following what Rishi Sunak described as ‘one of the most divisive campaigns’ in recent times.
The party warned Mr Galloway will stoke ‘fear and division’ and said he ‘only won because Labour did not stand’ after it dropped its candidate Azhar Ali for suggesting Israel was complicit in Hamas’ October 7 attack.
Galloway the ‘MP for Gaza’ back in power
by James Tozer and Martin Robinson
For some, George Galloway is best remembered for his bizarre appearance pretending to be a cat on Celebrity Big Brother, purring as he licked pretend milk out of actress Rula Lenska’s hand.
Others can never forget his warm words for dictators, saluting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein for his ‘courage’, ‘strength’ and ‘indefatigability’ and praising ‘Butcher of Damascus’ Bashar al-Assad.
After being down – and seemingly out – thanks to a decade of failed bids, the crisis which followed the Hamas attacks on Israel has once again propelled the four times married father-of-six back into the corridors of power, where he was already being dubbed ‘the MP for Gaza’.
It is a shock return to frontline politics, Dundee-born Mr Galloway, 69, has now been elected to Parliament seven times for three different parties.
But the ex-Labour MP’s track record of sowing discord and division has sparked fears about his polarising impact on the debate over Israel’s actions in Gaza.
In the 1970s Mr Galloway was campaigning for Dundee to be twinned with Nablus, a city in the West Bank, and later said it was in 1977 he pledged to devote his life ‘to the Palestinian and Arab cause’.
George Galloway has said he ‘respects the right’ of Hezbollah terrorists to operate in Lebanon
Mr Galloway was chairman of the Scottish Labour Party at just 26 and became MP for the Glasgow Hillhead constituency in 1987, defeating the SDP’s Roy Jenkins.
Soon afterwards he earned his nickname ‘Gorgeous George’ following a conference in Greece where he boasted he had met many women during the trip, ‘some of whom were known carnally to me’.
After the first Gulf War he described Kuwait as ‘a part of the greater Iraqi whole’ and in 1994 met Hussein, notoriously telling him: ‘I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability.’
In 2003 he was expelled from Labour after he called on British troops serving in Iraq to ‘refuse to obey illegal orders’.
But he retaliated by helping form the anti-war Respect Party and beating Labour’s Oona King in Bethnal Green and Bow in the 2005 general election.
However it was his appearance on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006 which earned him enduring ridicule.
He failed to win a seat at the 2010 general election but two years later returned to Parliament after a by-election in Bradford West.
After failing to defend the seat he came third in the 2021 Batley and Spen byelection following a campaign marred by claims of intimidation and homophobia, Mr Galloway instead concentrated on his media career, presenting on Russian and Iranian TV channels broadcasting in the UK and regularly being reprimanded for failing to meet Ofcom rules on impartiality.
He has also been pictured with two heads of Hamas, including with current leader Ismail Haniyeh in 2009.