VOTERS IN ROCHDALE, a town outside of Manchester in the United Kingdom, are today voting in one of the most chaotic by-elections the country has seen in recent years.
In the run up to polling day, internal party spats have taken place, candidates have received alleged death threats, and some have had to start wearing stab-proof vests when campaigning, due to the heightened tensions.
The issues on the minds of the people of Rochdale are broad, but highlight its place as one of the most deprived towns in the country.
In recent years, there has reportedly been a rise in activity of ‘grooming gangs’, policing failures and misgovernance at the local authority. Another massive topic, concerning much of the strong Muslim population of Rochdale, is the conflict in Gaza.
Former MP, anti-war campaigner and Big Brother contestant George Galloway is the favourite to take the seat, following the death of Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd last month.
Galloway, who is standing for the Workers Party of Britain, is campaigning heavily on the Palestinian cause and Gaza and believes 15,000 votes would do it for him to take the seat.
But there have been incidents that suggest not everyone in Rochdale is welcoming of Galloway and his political views.
A number of his campaign posters have been torn down over the last number of weeks of campaigning, due to many of them sharing the red, white and green colours of the Palestinian flag. Galloway has been subjected to accusations of antisemitism.
Many of these allegations against the former Labour MP are to due to his posters and strong, sometimes radical, stances on the Palestinian cause. Despite this, the serial by-election winner is still seen as a strong contender to win the seat.
The seat had been held by a Labour MP for a number of years and they were seen as likely to hold it; however Labour’s campaign was torpedoed days after launch after a recording surfaced of its candidate, Azhar Ali, speaking at a party meeting suggesting Israel was complicit with the massacre of its own people in the 7 October attack.
Party leader Keir Starmer has sought to move his party on from its reputation under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, which was overshadowed by controversies over antisemitism.
Two sitting Labour MPs both campaigned for Ali before Labour eventually withdrew their support amid growing criticism. Ali apologised for his remarks but it was too late to remove his name from the ballot.
Though no longer backed by Labour, he is expected to sit as an independent if elected to Westminster.
Another former Labour MP, Simon Danczuk, who formerly held the seat between 2010 and 2017, believes the poll is a two-horse race between him and Galloway. Danczuk, who is standing for the Reform Party, believes his campaign rivals Galloway’s.
Danczuk has said that Galloway is disinterested in Rochdale, that his campaign has been divisive for the community and that he would be the “MP for Gaza”, not the Northern town.
Danczuk, who was previously barred from the Labour Party in 2017 after apologising for sending an “inappropriate” text to a 17-year-old girl, is campaigning on voters’ disaffection with mainstream parties.
He claims people are fed up with the current political system and the public are “disillusioned with politics”.
“My job is talk to them, to get them to come out and vote. That’s the challenge in this by-election,” he said.
The town, where 60% voted for Brexit, has also had an increase in the arrival of refugees, according to the former Labour MP.
He added that he is in favour of policies which promote refusing entry to migrants arriving on, oftentimes makeshift, boats and claims the increased population of asylum seekers has “really impacted the local community”.
Danczuk, however, has reported being the subject of a death threat with police reportedly making an arrest during canvassing and has been taken aback by the level of anger and violence towards candidates.
He told the PA news agency this month: “It feels really different, more aggressive, as though there could be more violence around the election than you would’ve anticipated five years ago.”
Elsewhere, the Green Party’s campaign also fell apart after its candidate, Guy Otten, was found to have made offensive comments about the Koran on X, formerly Twitter.
Otten withdrew from the party and apologised for his “regrettable” remarks. Similarly, it was too late for him to pull out of the race and his name will still appear on the ballot paper.
Billy Howarth, who is standing as an independent candidate, is involved in the Parents Against Grooming UK. Howarth said he has taken to wearing a stab-vest while campaigning, such are tensions in the town.
Howarth is campaigning on policing reform after a number of reports in the town that a gang is attempting to groom children.
Also standing are Iain Donaldson, Liberal Democrats, Paul Ellison, Conservative Party, Michael Howarth, Independent, Ravin Rodent Subortna, The Official Monster Raving Loony Party and David Tully, Independent.
The number of postal votes in the election is high, standing at 21,810 out of an electorate of 82,615. Polling stations opened this morning at 7am and will close at 10pm tonight.
The declaration result is expected to be announced around 3am tomorrow morning.
Includes reporting by Press Association.
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