George Galloway, Simon Danczuk and Cllr Azhar Ali OBE all have two things in in common.  They have all been rejected by Labour and are all standing in the Rochdale by election on Thursday 29th February.

This by election has exposed everything that Sir Keir Starmer has tried to cover up since he won the Labour leadership with a campaign suggesting, as Jeremy Corbyn’s successor, ‘same message but better messenger’.

During a meeting of senior Labour figures from right across Lancashire and beyond Cllr Azhar Ali OBE said, in reference to 7th October Hamas attack that killed well over one thousand civilians, that Israel “deliberately… allowed the massacre… which gives them the green light to do whatever they bloody want.”

Shortly after his speech, Labour forced a rapid selection process and chose Cllr Ali to be their candidate.  They broke a custom that the by election process should only start after the former Member of Parliament has been buried.  The distasteful error Labour made in rushing the selection process landed them with a candidate that they are ashamed of and they will now punish any Labour activist for supporting.

It took days and mounting pressure before Sir Keir took the pre-ordained action of ejecting Cllr Ali which surprised me.  I wonder if he was hesitant to do the right thing but put politics first because of who else was in the room.

We now know that the former MP for Hyndburn and parliamentary candidate, Graham Jones, was at the meeting with Cllr Ali, added his own toxic views and has now been sacked. 

Labour’s Jim McMahon MP has already distanced himself from these events but others remain silent.

If they cannot run a dignified selection process or choose a respectable candidate, how can anyone expect Labour to run the country.