Newly elected Rochdale MP George Galloway has claimed that his "deeply immersed" in his community after shrugging off the comment that he "only did it for Gaza."
The Workers' Party of Britain representative won the by-election last month with a majority of 5,697, taking 12,335 votes.
Mr Galloway based much of his campaign on the conflict in Gaza, attacking the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to back a ceasefire in the region.
In his victory speech, he addressed Sir Keir directly, saying: “Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza. You will pay a high price for enabling, encouraging and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.”
George Galloway won in RochdalePASpeaking to Neil Oliver on GB News, Neil asked Galloway whether he would have run for parliament had it not been for Gaza and the controversial MP responded: "I probably would have in Rochdale.
"I knew the deceased member of Parliament very well, for 40 years.
"I know the town of Rochdale very well as I've been speaking in it regularly for 25 years. My daughter was born nearby, two of my sons live nearby and I attend Old Trafford in Manchester every other week.
"So I'm deeply immersed in this part of the world. So I probably would. I probably wouldn't have if the by-election had been in the Home Counties somewhere.
Galloway said he is "immersed" in the Rochdale community
GB News
"But in Rochdale, in the North-West, in Greater Manchester, where I already knew I had a lot of support, Yes, I probably would."
Writer and commentator Tom Bewick explained: "I accept George Galloway can speak up for whoever he likes. He's now an elected member of parliament.
"But with that comes a lot of responsibility. Not just for the constituents of Rochdale but in terms of taking part in our national debates.
"That we don't further tensions, sectarianism or indeed promote the idea that we should be even electing factions based on religious grounds to Parliament."
Galloway’s return to Parliament was made notable by Labour and Conservative failures, with neither party even making the top two.
George Galloway built his campaign around the Gaza conflictPALabour had stood down its candidate Azhar Ali over comments he made about Israel and Jewish people.
He was still listed as the Labour candidate on the ballot paper as the decision was made too late in the day for another candidate to take his place.
His expulsion paved the way for a comfortable Galloway victory, and the controversial figure has vowed to heap more misery on Sir Keir Starmer.
He explained: “This was the straw that broke the camel’s back in Rochdale.”
