How Labour Withdrawing Support, EXPLAINED Mr Ali has been dropped by the party after he remarked on the Israel-Hamas war; nonetheless, he will still be on the by-election ballot paper.
Labour has pulled its support for their candidate in the Rochdale by-election after he made inflammatory remarks on Israel’s invasion of Gaza. Azhar Ali, a Lancashire county councillor who formerly worked as a government advisor under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, was named Labour’s MP candidate for Rochdale on January 27.
How Labour Withdrawing Support From Azhar Ali Impacts Rochdale by-election
He defeated Wigan councillors Nazia Rehman and Paul Waugh, who stood down as the main political pundit to run for the position.
However, Mr Ali was eliminated as Labour’s candidate on Monday after previous comments about the Israel-Hamas conflict were made public. Following the death of former MP Tony Lloyd last month, a by-election is scheduled on February 29 in Rochdale.
Here’s what happened and what’s coming next:
Why Was Azhar Ali Removed as Labour’s Candidate?
On 10 February, the Mail on Sunday reported comments from a covert recording of Mr Ali during a Lancashire Labour Party meeting immediately after Hamas’ strikes on Israel on October 7.
According to the recording, he suggests that Israel was aware of Hamas’ preparations but “allowed” them to proceed.
“The Egyptians claim to have warned Israel 10 days earlier…” Americans informed them a day earlier that something was going to happen. According to reports, the perpetrators intentionally removed security and allowed the atrocity to occur, giving them the freedom to do anything they wanted.
The comments were strongly condemned by the Jewish community, putting additional pressure on Sir Keir Starmer, who had previously committed to combat antisemitism within his party.
In a statement, Mr Ali said: “I sincerely apologize to the Jewish community for my statements, which were highly hurtful, uninformed, and incorrect. “Hamas’s horrific terror attack was the responsibility of Hamas alone, and they are still holding hostages who must be released.”
The party said on Monday evening that it was pulling its support for Mr Ali after “more comments” surfaced.
It followed the Daily Mail’s publication of statements made at the same meeting in which Mr Ali allegedly blamed “people in the media from certain Jewish quarters” for Andy McDonald’s Labour Party suspension.
Last year, the Labour MP lost the party whip after using the controversial slogan “from the river to the sea” to express support for Palestine at a protest.
According to the article, Mr. Ali stated that Israel intended to “get rid of [Palestinians] from Gaza” and “grab” the territory.
Following the news, Labour’s national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden stated that “the fact you have very rare circumstances where a political party is withdrawing support for a candidate after nominations have closed” demonstrated Mr Starmer’s seriousness about “rooting antisemitism out of the Labour Party.”
According to a Labour spokeswoman, Keir Starmer’s leadership has transformed the party from its 2019 form. It is critical that any candidate proposed by Labour completely reflects its goals and beliefs.”
What will Happen Next in Rochdale?
The official deadline for a candidate to withdraw from the Rochdale by-election has passed, so Mr Ali will appear as the Labour candidate on the vote paper. However, if elected, he will not wield the party whip and will instead serve as an independent MP. He is also unlikely to be chosen as Labour’s candidate in the upcoming general election.
According to Electoral Commission guidelines, candidates must withdraw 19 days before the scheduled by-election, which passed on February 2. “After the withdrawal deadline, you cannot withdraw from the election; your name will appear on the ballot paper. If the election is uncontested, you will be proclaimed elected, according to the rules.
The decision leaves Labour without a candidate for the next by-election, potentially handing the Conservatives or Respect Party leader George Galloway an improbable triumph.
Labour has won the seat in every election since 2010, but this is not the first time an independent candidate has taken it.
Simon Danczuk was the MP for Rochdale from 2010 to 2017, although he lost the Labour Party whip in 2015 after claims surfaced that he had exchanged graphic communications with an underage girl.
He ran as an independent in the 2017 general election but lost to Labour’s Tony Lloyd. Mr Danczuk will now run as the Reform UK candidate in the next by-election.
What did Labour Say about Azhar Ali?
Following the announcement that Mr Ali had been dropped as the candidate, a Labour Party spokeswoman stated, “Following new information about further comments made by Azhar Ali coming to light today, the Labour Party has withdrawn its support for Azhar Ali as our candidate in the Rochdale by-election.”
She said, “Keir Starmer has transformed Labour into something unrecognizable from the party of 2019.” We recognize that these are extremely unusual circumstances, but it is critical that any candidate proposed by Labour completely represents its goals and principles.”
Senior Labour figures publicly criticized Mr Ali’s remarks in the days following the disclosures but supported the party’s choice to support him in the Rochdale by-election.
The day after the reports surfaced, Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, stated that the comments were “completely wrong” and did not represent the views of the Labour Party.
He told Sky News: “He has delivered a full apology and retraction. And I hope he learns a valuable lesson from it, since he should never have uttered such things in the first place.
Shadow minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told the BBC on Monday that Mr Ali’s remarks were “completely and utterly unacceptable,” but stressed that the prospective MP recognized the “gravity of the offence that has been caused” and has “unreservedly apologised.”
He stated that Mr Ali had “fallen for a conspiracy theory” when he made those remarks.
