George Galloway heckled by Just Stop Oil protester while giving Rochdale by-election victory speech
George Galloway heckled by Just Stop Oil protester
GB News
A Just Stop Oil protester has heckled George Galloway while the victor of the Rochdale by-election gave his victory speech.
Galloway was showered with orange confetti while the protester shouted over the Workers Party speech.
However, the protester was quickly drowned out by counter-chants.
Galloway stormed to victory in the by-election with 12,335 votes, some 5,697 more than the second-place candidate David Tully (Independent) coming in with 6,638.
WATCH HERE: George Galloway speech interupted by Just Stop Oil protester
The Rochdale by-election was marred by controversy from start to finish as two candidates had the support of their parties withdrawn over comments made about Gaza.
The Tory candidate Paul Ellison also drew criticism as he jetted off on holiday during the campaign.
In his victory speech, Galloway said: “Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. You have paid and you will pay a high price for the role that you have played in enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.
“Rochdale Town councillors, I put you on notice now that I hope to put together a grand alliance of all the parties to remove – ”
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The protester shouted over the top of Galloway's speech and threw orange confetti on stage
GB News
However, the protester shouted over the top of the Rochdale winner while throwing orange confetti on stage.
She yelled: “George Galloway, you took away our future. You are a climate change denier.
“You said in the hustings that you wanted to extract oil from the North Sea and all the coal from under our feet – ”
However, the protester was then drowned out herself by counter-chanting in support of Galloway.
Security then intervened and escorted the protester from the event.
The protester was then escorted out
GB News
Galloway then continued: ”I want to tell Mr Starmer above all that the plates have shifted tonight.
”And as Jacob Rees Mogg just said on television [GB News], in talking of me as a parliamentary orator, of note that Keir Starmer's problems just got 100 times more serious than they were before today.
”This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the tectonic plates in scores of parliamentary constituencies, beginning here in the Northwest, in the West Midlands, in London, from Ilford to Bethnal Green and Bow. Labour is on notice that they have lost the confidence of millions of their voters who loyally and traditionally voted for them generation after generation.
”I've heard some of the narrative being spun around this election result this evening.
”Yes, it's true that every Muslim is bitterly angry at Keir Starmer and his misnamed Labour Party.
”But you would be very foolish if you did not realize that millions of other citizens of our country are too.
”Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two cheeks of the same backside, and they both got well and truly spanked tonight here in Rochdale.”
George Galloway said in his speech that both Starmer and Sunak 'got well and truly spanked tonight here in Rochdale'
GB News
Some 39.7 per cent of the 82,615 Rochdale residents turned out to vote.
The by-election in Rochdale was sparked after veteran Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd died on January 17 just days after announcing he had an incurable form of leukaemia.
In 2019, Lloyd snatched victory with a healthy majority of just under 10,000 votes and a share of more than 51 per cent.
Eleven candidates were on the ballot Azhar Ali (Labour), Mark Coleman (Independent), Simon Danczuk (Reform UK), Iain Donaldson (Lib Dems), Paul Ellison (Conservative), George Galloway (Workers Party), Michael Howarth (Independent), William Howarth (Independent), Guy Otten (Green Party), Ravin Rodent Subortna (Monster Raving Loony Party), David Tully (Independent).