George Galloway, the new Rochdale MP who recently won a by-election, is considering running against Andy Burnham for the position of Greater Manchester’s mayor. After his seventh return to Parliament following his by-election victory, Mr Galloway criticised the Labour mayor in his first speech back in the House of Commons.
He warned Labour that he plans to challenge them in local council elections and field candidates for Parliament across the country, including in Greater Manchester.
Mr Galloway is now contemplating joining the race for Greater Manchester’s mayoral position in May. He told the MEN.
that if he decides to run for mayor, his campaign would focus on securing a ‘better deal’ for the city’s surrounding towns, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The leader of the Workers Party of Britain made the war in Gaza a key issue during his by-election campaign, winning the support of many members of Rochdale’s Muslim community. During the campaign, he promised the if he were elected and returned to Parliament, he would prioritise discussing Gaza before addressing local issues affecting Rochdale.
However, in his first speech back in Parliament this week, he spent a significant amount of time discussing Rochdale, a town he believes has been ‘abandoned by the state’. He also criticised Greater Manchester’s Labour mayor for ‘abandoning’ Rochdale.
He goes on to say: “This town, which was once one of the most prosperous in England, is now one of the poorest, abandoned not just by the government but abandoned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester for whom I have no animus – quite the contrary, at least until recent weeks.”
“But he has to understand that he is the Mayor of Greater Manchester, not just the mayor of Manchester. What about the towns around Manchester that get the wrong end of the stick? “.
When asked by the MEN if he would consider standing against Mr Burnham in May, Mr Galloway replied: “If I stand it would be on a platform of a better deal for Manchester’s surrounding towns. Andy Burnham has been seduced by the undoubtedly bright lights of the metropolis. But it’s fairly dark and austere out here in ‘Greater’ Manchester.”
Mr Galloway has run for seven different Parliamentary constituencies since being expelled from Labour 21 years ago. In 2016 he took part in the race for London’s mayor, where he came seventh with 1.4 per cent of the votes.
Mr Burnham’s spokesperson responded by saying: “Two weeks to the day after being elected, the new MP for Rochdale now says he wants another job. Well he will have to choose as he can’t do both.”
“He couldn’t have made it clearer if he tried that Rochdale is just somewhere he has used for his own ends. He also seems unaware that Rochdale will see the biggest change in 40 years a week on Sunday as its buses go back under public control – an inconvenient fact which destroys the entire basis of Mr Galloway’s Mayoral bid.”
