George Galloway takes swipe at MPs as he returns to Parliament after by-election

04 March 2024 , 11:04

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George Galloway takes swipe at MPs as he returns to Parliament after by-election

George Galloway has made clear he is not looking to make friends as he returned to Parliament as a newly elected MP on Monday.

The controversial left-wing firebrand, who won Rochdale's by-election last week, was sworn into the Commons this afternoon after being ousted as an MP in 2015. As he was stopped by reporters on his drive into Westminster, he said he had always "loved the building" of Parliament before adding: "The people in it, not quite so much."

Asked how he was feeling, he told Sky News: "Nice to see you again. I'm feeling good thank you. The sun is shining." Pressed on what it felt like to be back, he said: "Well I'll tell you once I've been inside. I've always loved the building. The people in it, not quite so much."

George Galloway took the oath as he was sworn into the Commons

Mr Galloway, who was expelled from Labour after being found to have brought the party into disrepute in 2003, declared “this is for Gaza” as he won the Rochdale by-election in the early hours of Friday. The ex-Labour and Respect MP, who now leads the Workers Party of Britain, vowed to disrupt Labour's bid for power and threatened to stand candidates against it in up to 50 seats across the country at the general election.

The Rochdale by-election was triggered following the death last month of sitting Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd, who had a majority of 9,668 votes at the last election. But Mr Starmer's party withdrew its support for its new candidate Azhar Ali after a recording emerged of him suggesting Israel deliberately allowed its citizens to be killed so it could invade Gaza.

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George Galloway is due to be sworn into the Commons as Rochdale's new MP after winning the by-election there last week

Mr Galloway, who famously pretended to be a cat on Celebrity Big Brother, won the by-election with a majority of of 5,697 votes, after scooping up a total of 12,335 seats. Mr Ali, who was still listed as Labour's candidate on ballot papers as it was too late to edit them, gained a total of just 2,402 votes.

A Labour spokesman apologised to the people of Rochdale and said they "deeply regret" having not found a candidate for the by-election. They said Mr Galloway "is only interested in stoking fear and division" and said he "only won because Labour did not stand".

Sophie Huskisson