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George Galloway Tells Journalist To ‘Suck It Up’ After By-Election Win

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George Galloway has clashed with Sam Coates of Sky News as the veteran left-winger faced criticism from the prime minister after winning the Rochdale by-election.

The Workers Party of Britain leader dismissed “little” Rishi Sunak’s comments, and urged Coates to “suck it up” after repeated questions about the conduct of his supporters during the campaign.

The journalist faced shouts of “bye-bye” and chants of “free Palestine” from Galloway activists as the interview at the new MP’s headquarters wrapped up.

Galloway ran on a pro-Palestine ticket, and pulled off a stunning victory to be elected to parliament for the fourth time, comfortably defeating Azhar Ali, the Labour candidate who was dumped by the party during the campaign.

Ali finished a lowly fourth place behind independent candidate David Tully and Paul Ellison of the Conservatives.

Galloway’s win prompted a reaction from Sunak during an unexpected address from Downing Street on Friday night. The prime minister said: “It’s beyond alarming that last night, the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate that dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP.”

When pressed by Sky News, Galloway was dismissive of the PM. “You talk as if this is God,” he said. “You’re talking about little Rishi Sunak, in the fag end of his prime ministership. Don’t talk to me as if he’s come down from the Mount with tablets of stone – the things that he says are somehow meant to awe me. They may awe you, they don’t awe me.”

The interview with Coates, the broadcaster’s deputy political editor, became increasingly edgy.

“Who won the election? Me or Rishi Sunak?,” said Galloway. “I’ve got the democratic mandate here, not Rishi Sunak. He didn’t even come second. He was lucky to come third. So don’t put to me statements made by Rishi Sunak as if I’m supposed to be impressed by them. He don’t impress me much.”

When asked if he respected Sunak, the Rochdale MP fired back: “I despise the prime minister. And guess what? Millions and millions and millions of people in this country despise the prime minister. I do not respect the prime minister at all.”

The mood intensified further as Coates asked about the conduct of Galloway’s supporters during the contest amid allegations of intimidation from rival campaigns.

Again dismissing Sunak’s concerns, Galloway said: “What I care about is that the returning officer, a man of unimpeachable integrity, I’m sure you’ll agree, declared it a free and fair election. And me as the winner, and Rishi Sunak as one of the crushed two big parties of the state.”

He added: “You just have to suck it up. I won the election.”

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Rishi Sunak Addressed The Nation Outside No.10 – And Said Very Little

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Rishi Sunak has used a “lectern speech” outside the doors of No.10 Downing Street to condemn extremists “trying to tear us apart” – but offered little by way of a policy solution.

Westminster was buzzing as the prime minister announced he would make an unexpected Friday night address – with the prospect he was about to call a general election swiftly ruled out.

Instead, Sunak’s addressed the nation on tackling the unrest in Britain in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel – a situation the PM had likened to “mob rule” in a statement earlier in the week.

Against the backdrop of the No.10 front door, Sunak warned “our democracy itself is a target” for extremists.

He continued: “In recent weeks and months, we have seen a shocking increase in extremist disruption and criminality.

“What started as protests on our streets have descended into intimidation, threats and planned acts of violence.

“Jewish children, fearful to wear their school uniform lest it reveals their identity. Muslim women abused in the street for the actions of a terrorist group they have no connection with.

“Now our democracy itself is a target. Council meetings and local events have been stormed. MPs do not feel safe in their homes. Long-standing parliamentary conventions have been upended because of safety concerns.

“And it’s beyond alarming that last night, the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate that dismisses the horror of what happened on October 7, who glorifies Hezbollah and is endorsed by Nick Griffin, the racist former leader of the BNP.”

The latter part of the statement alludes to the victory of George Galloway in the Rochdale by-election.

Sunak was vague, however, on how his government would take action to deal with the problem, alluding only to a “new robust framework” to tackle the “root causes” of extremism and “asking more of the police”.

The speech came at the end of another rancorous week for British politics.

On Wednesday, Sunak claimed that there is a “growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule” in the UK, but Downing Street failed to provide any evidence for the extraordinary allegation.

In another controversy, Lee Anderson, the former Tory party chairman, claimed policing of the largely peaceful demonstrations showed that “Islamists” had “control” over London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim. Anderson had the Tory whip removed last weekend after he chose not to apologise for the comments, and spent this week rowing back from his original “little bit of contrition”.

On Friday, Galloway, the former Labour MP, claimed a stunning victory in the Rochdale by-election on the back of a pro-Palestine ticket and a disastrous Labour campaign that saw the party drop support for their candidate after he made comments branded anti-Semitic.

Following the speech, Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “The British people will take no lessons from a prime minister and Conservative party who have sowed the seeds of division for years.

“This is the same prime minister who made Suella Braverman his home secretary and Lee Anderson his party’s deputy chairman.

“If the prime minister is serious about bringing people together, he would call a general election now, so that the British public can decide the future of our country.”

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Matt Hancock Gets Rinsed By Jacob Rees-Mogg’s Teenage Son

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The former health secretary was giving a talk at Eton, the elite private school, when he took a jab at his Conservative colleague.

According to The Times Diary, Hancock joked about how Rees-Mogg was “not a good politician” – seemingly unaware Rees-Mogg’s son, Peter, was in the audience.

Pupils were later given the chance to ask questions, and the 16-year-old reportedly stood up and insisted his father was a great man in public and in private. He added: “Especially as he remained loyal to his wife.”

Hancock was married with three children when he embarked on an affair with aide Gina Coladangelo.

He was forced to quit as health secretary after video footage emerged of them kissing in his office in breach of the social distancing rules he had set during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rees-Mogg senior told The Telegraph: “I think Peter was brave to stand up in front of hundreds of boys to take on a senior figure.

“It shows backbone and from my point of view admirable loyalty.”

A friend of Hancock’s told HuffPost UK: “Matt thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the sparring with some very impressive boys.”

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Jess Phillips Reads Out Names Of Women Killed By Men For Ninth Year

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Jess Phillips has called for the UK government to take violence against women more seriously than the crackdown on small boats crossing the English Channel as she once again read out a list of names of women killed by men in the last year.

For the ninth year, the Labour MP named before parliament every woman killed in the UK in the last 12 months where the primary suspect or known killer was a man. She told the Commons the “epidemic of violence against women and girls has not abated”.

It took around five minutes to read out more than 100 names.

Before reading out the list, Phillips told MPs: “I am tired that women’s safety matters so much less in this place than small boats. I am tired of fighting for systematic change and being given table scraps.

“Never again do I want to hear a politician say that lessons will be learned from abject failure, it is not true. This list is no longer just a testament to these women’s lives, it is a testament to our collective failure.”

The backbench MP, a former shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, said that at least half of the women whose names she read out could have been saved.

Phillips spoke during a debate on language in politics on International Women’s Day, and the tribute came on the day a report was published into the murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens.

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Is George Galloway About To Make A Dramatic Return To Parliament?

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According to the bookies, today’s Rochdale by-election is already a done deal.

George Galloway, the former Labour MP who now represents the Workers Party of Britain, is the odds-on favourite to win.

If he does, it will represent another remarkable comeback for one of British politics’s most controversial figures.

Voters in the Greater Manchester seat began going to the polls from 7am this morning to elect a successor to Tony Lloyd, the veteran Labour MP who died of leukaemia in January.

Lloyd, who had been the constituency’s MP since 2017, was re-elected in 2019 with a majority of 9,668.

All things being equal, the by-election would have been a safe Labour hold. But, in an unprecedented move, the party withdrew support for its own candidate, Azhar Ali, after recordings emerged of him making anti-Israel comments at a community meeting.

Because it was too late to replace him on the ballot paper, Ali is still officially Labour’s candidate even though, if he wins, he will sit as an independent MP and will not stand for the party at the general election.

Labour’s difficulty has become Galloway’s opportunity. The Dundee-born left-winger aims to capitalise on his former party’s turmoil over the war in Gaza to become Rochdale’s new MP.

A voter arrives at a polling station in the Rochdale by-election.
A voter arrives at a polling station in the Rochdale by-election.

Christopher Furlong via Getty Images

Galloway was first elected to parliament as the Labour MP for Glasgow Hillhead in 1987, a seat he held until 2005.

By that time, however, he was no longer a Labour member, having been expelled from the party two years previously over his outspoken opposition to the Iraq war.

At the 2005 general election, he was elected the Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, defeating Labour’s Oona King in the process.

After losing his seat in 2010, Galloway returned to parliament again in 2012 when he won the Bradford West by-election.

Once again, he was defeated at the subsequent general election in 2015 and, after unsuccessful attempts to become London mayor and a member of the Scottish Parliament, he is once again on the verge of becoming an MP.

Another curiosity of the Rochdale by-election is that is is being contested by no fewer than three former Labour politicians – Azhar Ali (who is a councillor in Wigan), Galloway and Simon Danczuk, who represented the seat for Labour between 2010 and 2017 and is standing for Reform UK.

Former Labour MP Simon Danczuk is standing for Reform UK.
Former Labour MP Simon Danczuk is standing for Reform UK.

Christopher Furlong via Getty Images

The unique circumstances of the contest also make it hard to predict, although there is little doubt that Galloway is now the man to beat.

One local voter told HuffPost UK: “The Labour vote isn’t just going to go to Galloway.

“The idea that George will also get all of the Muslim vote is just not true. And Muslim voters only make up around 20% of the electorate, so it’s hard to call. It will all depend on turnout.”

George Galloway has made the war in Gaza the central theme of his campaign.
George Galloway has made the war in Gaza the central theme of his campaign.

James Speakman – PA Images via Getty Images

Galloway has been clear about what his priorities will be should be sent back to the Commons, telling the Manchester Evening News: “On my return – if I’m elected – I’ll begin with, ‘as I was saying, Mr Speaker’, and I’ll ask the prime minister to meet me urgently to hear from the frontline, what millions of British people think about what’s happening in Gaza.

“But my second question will be on the A&E and the maternity services which are now non-existent in Rochdale.”

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Margaret Hodge Tears Into ‘Patronising’ Reform UK’s Richard Tice

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Labour’s Margaret Hodge has clashed with Reform UK’s Richard Tice during a heated exchange in the aftermath of the Lee Anderson Islamophobia row.

On Sky News, the veteran MP and the leader of the former Brexit Party had awkward exchanges over Reform UK’s apparent increasing influence.

The party has received more media coverage in recent weeks following its third place finishes in the Wellingborough and Kingswood by-elections – potentially splitting the Tory vote in future elections – and speculation over the possible defection of Anderson, who was suspended from the Tory parliamentary party after he refused to apologise for saying “Islamists” had “got control of (London mayor Sadiq) Khan and they’ve got control of London”.

The TV exchange got off to an uncomfortable start, with Hodge asking Tice not to “interrupt” her: “Let me put the argument and then I’ll give you plenty of time to respond.”

The former minister then took to task the argument that Reform UK is having an increasing influence on Westminster, pointing out that getting around 10% of the vote in by-elections pales compared to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 1980s: “I think the SDP were picking up much more. They were up at 23%. They never got a seat.”

She went on: “Your great, glorious president, whatever you would call him, he’s had more elections than I’ve had hot dinners and he’s managed to lose every single one.”

They also clashed over Reform UK’s so-called “contract with you”, in effect a draft manifesto. Tice told Hodge “you clearly haven’t read the contract properly” and “you clearly don’t understand it”, which led to Hodge describing her opponent as “patronising” – and unleashing another attack.

They also went back-and-forth over policing of pro-Palestine protests, with Hodge accusing Tice of being “bloody patronising”.

She added: “Honestly, you really are. I feel a misogynist attack on me in the way (you say) ‘you’re so ill-informed. You don’t know what you’re talking about’. I find that really offensive.”

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Richard Lewis, Beloved Comedian And Curb Your Enthusiasm Regular, Dead At 76

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Richard Lewis, the critically acclaimed stand-up comic known for his droll delivery and brutal candour, has died. He was 76.

The actor revealed in 2023 that he’d been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, recommitting himself at the time to working on Curb Your Enthusiasm alongside his longtime friend Larry David, the show’s star and creator.

The comedy series, now in its 12th and final season, will likely feature posthumous appearances by Lewis, who had refrained from appearing in Season 11 as he dealt with several surgeries.

His publicist, Jeff Abraham, told The Associated Press that Lewis died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday night after suffering a heart attack.

Lewis starred in the TV show Anything but Love (1989 to 1992) with Jamie Lee Curtis and also played in the films Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) and Leaving Las Vegas (1995). He also regularly appeared on The Late Show With David Letterman and The Howard Stern Show.

Lewis, who dubbed himself the Prince of Pain, wrote a 2000 memoir titled The Other Great Depression.

“I’ve devoted my life to comedy and my sobriety the last almost 27 years. I’m overwhelmed with joy right now. I never learned how to keep joy in my head for more than a minute, but I’m breaking all records for my life today,” Lewis told Variety in 2021.

He is survived by his wife, Joyce Lapinsky.

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Rishi Sunak Says There’s A ‘Growing Consensus’ Britain Is Descending Into ‘Mob Rule’

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Rishi Sunak has suggested the UK is descending into “mob rule”, and has urged police to do more to protect Britain’s democracy.

His comment comes amid pro-Palestinian protests that have been held most weekends, drawing hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, and growing concern in recent months over MPs’ safety since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

Last week, parliament descended into chaos as tensions flared over a vote on the Israel-Hamas conflict, with the House of Commons speaker citing “frightening” threats against MPs for a decision to break with usual parliamentary procedure.

But the Conservatives have been accused of deliberately raising tensions.

Ex-Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson had the Tory whip removed over the weekend after he chose not to apologise for saying “Islamists” had “control” over London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim.

Khan accused the Tories of adopting a strategy to “weaponise anti-Muslim prejudice for electoral gain”.

Former home secretary Suella Braverman called the protests “hate marches” and accused police of being too lenient with them.

The prime minister said a new “democratic policing protocol” would commit to extra patrols and make clear that protests targetting MPs at their homes should be treated as intimidatory.

Speaking to police leaders about the issues around MPs’ safety at a roundtable meeting in Downing Street on Wednesday, Sunak said: “There is a growing consensus that mob rule is replacing democratic rule. And we’ve got to collectively, all of us, change that urgently.”

The Tory leader continued: “We also need to demonstrate more broadly to the public that (the police) will use the powers you already have, the laws that you have.

“I am going to do whatever it requires to protect our democracy and our values that we all hold dear.

“That is what the public expect. It is fundamental to our democratic system. And also it is vital for maintaining public confidence in the police.”

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Jon Stewart Breaks Down In Tears As He Shares Heartbreaking News About His Dog

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Jon Stewart dedicated his closing segment to remembering his three-legged dog, Dipper, on Monday.

Choking back tears throughout the tribute, The Daily Show host shared that Dipper had died on Sunday.

“He was ready. He was tired,” Stewart said. “But I wasn’t.”

He said his family were all with Dipper in his final moments. The show’s credits rolled alongside a sweet video of Dipper frolicking in the snow.

Before sharing the news, Stewart recalled visiting an animal shelter in New York City with his young children 12 or 13 years ago to take part in a fundraiser.

They ended up going home with a new family member, who had lost a leg after being hit by a car in Brooklyn, he said.

“They put the dog in my lap, and we left that day feeling really good. We’d helped this great organisation, and we also left with this is one-ish-year-old pitbull,” Stewart said.

“We called him Dipper. And in a world of good boys, he was the best,” he added. “He used to come to The Daily Show every day … We’d come and tape the show, and Dipper would wait for me to be done.”

He continued: “He met actors and authors and presidents and kings. And he did what the Taliban could not do, which is put a scare into Malala Yousafzai.”

He included a video of the activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate running away from Dipper backstage.

Watch Stewart’s tribute to Dipper below.

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