Labour was facing fresh embarrassment today over its Rochdale by-election campaign after leaflets featuring its dumped candidate landed on doormats.
The pamphlets describe Azhar Ali as “a strong voice for Rochdale” and picture him wearing a red rosette.
They were sent out before he was ditched by Labour on Monday after an antisemitism row erupted.
The leaflets urging people to “vote Labour” arrived at homes in the Lancashire town on Wednesday despite the party working with the Royal Mail to try and stop deliveries.
In a personal message on the front of the leaflet, Mr Ali said: “I grew up down the road and like you, I know how tough times have been under the Conservatives over the last 14 years.
“It’s awful seeing the growth in food banks, beggars on the street and run down shops in our town centre; Rochdale deserves so much better than this and I want to make a change.”
He added: “Residents don’t want empty promises, they want someone with a plan and a commitment to get things done.
“The Conservatives have to go. If you agree, vote Labour on Thursday 29 February and send a message to the Conservative government; Labour is the choice for Britain.”
The leaflets also feature an endorsement from Andy Burnham, the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester, who says Mr Ali will be a “powerful champion” for the town.
Labour withdrew its support from Mr Ali 48 hours after it emerged he claimed Israel allowed Hamas’s October 7 massacre to happen as a pretext to invade Gaza.
Mr Ali, who has apologised for the remarks recorded in a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party, will remain on the ballot paper for the party as the deadline to remove him has passed.
If elected in the by-election on February 29, he will sit as an independent MP and will not receive the party whip.
