George Galloway gave a strong indication of how he intends to spend the next few months when the newly elected MP for Rochdale launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – live on national television.
Mr Galloway – who handily won Thursday’s by-election with a majority of almost 6,000 – swiftly went on the attack when he was interviewed by Sky News Reporter Sam Coates during a victory party last night.
Mr Coates put Mr Galloway on the spot after asking him for his reaction to Mr Sunak’s description of his election win as “beyond horrifying”.
Mr Galloway said: “You’re talking about him as if he is God.
“We’re talking about little Rishi Sunak in the fag end of his Premiership.
“Don’t talk to me as if he’s come down from the mount with tablets of stone.
“The things he says are somehow meant to awe me, they may awe you but they don’t awe me.”
Responding to Mr Sunak’s implication that Mr Galloway was a divisive figure, Mr Galloway continued: “Who won the election? Me or Rishi Sunak?
“I’ve got the democratic mandate here. He didn’t even come second. He was lucky to come third.”
Mr Galloway was then asked about previous remarks about Israel, specifically its right to exist, and replied: “We had this conversation last night – why are you reheating it?
“Don’t keep telling me about the Prime Minister as if he was Moses.”
Asked whether he respected Mr Sunak, Mr Galloway then vehemently replied: “I despise the Prime Minister.
“I don’t respect the Prime Minister at all.
“The Prime Minister is a rather diminutive, diminished and degraded politician. I don’t care about Rishi Sunak’s attitude.
“What I care about is that the returning officer, a man of unimpeachable integrity I am sure you’ll agree, declared it a free and fair election and me as the winner.”
Neither was Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer spared Mr Galloway’s ire.
Against a backdrop of raucous cheers, he said: “My message to Keir Starmer is that the skids are under you in scores of Labour seats up and down the country because you’ve lost the trust, the confidence of millions of your traditional voters.”
