Labour have been branded ‘childish’ over comments made by an MP saying she “wouldn’t speak to” newly elected Rochdale MP George Galloway. Liz Kendall appeared on Sky News this morning with Kay Burley to answer questions on Mr Galloway’s victory in the North West after he secured almost 40 percent of the vote.
Labour candidate for Rochdale, Azhar Ali, came fourth in the contest after the party leadership withdrew their support when leaked recordings suggested he thought Israel was complicit in the Hamas October 7 terror attack.
Asked by presenter Ms Burley if she would “ignore” Mr Galloway, Ms Kendall replied: “I wouldn’t speak to him.”
But reacting to the statement she wouldn’t acknowledge a newly elected colleague in Westminster, one viewer posted on X, formerly Twitter, that it would be “childish”.
They wrote: “Liz Kendall and the Labour party not going to be talking or acknowledging George Galloway, how childish and divisive, bad losers once again, and undemocratic.” Another person simply wrote: “Do better next time.”
Someone else noted that they thought the war in Isreal was something that mattered to the people of Rochdale, posting: “Liz Kendall stating on Sky News that labour will put forward a candidate in Rochdale at the GE who will focus on the issues that really matter to them.
“No mention of Gaza!! That’s why Galloway won a thumping majority, people really care about Gaza, Labour clearly doesn’t.”
Ms Kendall continued her comments by saying Labour would find another candidate to stand at the General Election when it is called this year.
She said: “What I’ll be thinking is that at the next General Election, Labour is going to put forward a candidate, we’re going to fight to win back Rochdale and give them a candidate who is focused on the issues that matter to them, deeply matter to them, with a proper plan to get this country back on the right track.
Ms Burley said that Labour had to “accept responsibility” for Mr Galloway being an MP, to which the MP for Leicester West said she was “really sorry to the people of Rochdale that we didn’t have a candidate that we could put forward”.
Ms Kendall denied Labour would have lost Rochdale if that had put forward a candidate, reiterating the only reason Mr Galloway won was because he was not opposed by someone supported by Sir Keir Starmer’s party.
In his by-election victory speech, Mr Galloway – a former Labour and Respect MP, who now leads the Workers Party of Britain – announced that his win was “for Gaza” after a feisty and chaotic campaign dominated by the Middle East conflict.
Independent candidate David Tully came second in the contest, with the Conservatives third and the Labour candidate, Azhar Ali, in fourth.
