UK Labour withdraws support for Rochdale candidate after Israel-Gaza remarks

Source: The Guardian

Labour withdraws support for Rochdale candidate after Israel-Gaza remarks

Party no longer campaigning for Azhar Ali, who suggested Israel had allowed 7 October attack to happen

Aletha Adu, Rajeev Syal and Eleni Courea
Mon 12 Feb 2024 21.31 GMT
First published on Mon 12 Feb 2024 19.50 GMT

Labour has withdrawn its support for Azhar Ali, its candidate for the Rochdale byelection, just days before voters go to the polls in a key test for Keir Starmer’s party.

In line with electoral law, Labour cannot replace Ali with another candidate because the deadline passed on 2 February. He will stand as a Labour candidate on the ballot paper, but if elected he will not hold the party whip and will sit as an independent MP.

Labour sources said that campaigners in Rochdale were told to stop leafleting and social media activity on Ali’s behalf at 5.30pm – an instruction that came from party HQ.

Senior party MPs and members had urged the leadership to confirm Ali would be disciplined if he won the byelection as comments he had made soon after the 7 October attacks surfaced over the weekend. In them, he suggested Israel had deliberately relaxed security after warnings of an imminent threat.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/12/labour-withdraws-support-for-rochdale-candidate-after-israel-gaza-remarks