Non - Labour Party

George Galloway it seems is the favourite to be elected for Rochdale.


Galloway is now leading the polls, which may be a relief for Sadiq Khan, as it means he won’t challenge for the London mayoralty if he wins in Rochdale.

The other option in Rochdale is Simon Danczuk of Reform UK. He is the former representative of the constituency, before being booted out for sending explicit text messages to a 17-year-old.

And it doesn’t stop there.

The Greens also had to disavow their candidate, after posts from 2016 showed he had indulged in anti-Islamic rhetoric.

With an outside chance, are the embattled Tories, who have landscaper Paul Ellison, Rochdale Man of the Year in 2020, and Iain Donaldson of the Lib Dems (remember them?).

www.cityam.com

Rochdale by-election: The only winners will be the losers

Labour’s Azhar Ali was forced into an apology after he said Israel “allowed” the 7 October attacks, but he's not the only problem.
www.cityam.com www.cityam.com
 
Former Labour MP Ed Balls told ITV's Good Morning Britain that he believes Mr Jones and Mr Ali had been told to go to the meeting to reassure the community that they were being listened to.

He said it is "untrue" to describe Mr Jones or his comments as anti-semitic.

"Azhar Ali said a terrible thing – an anti-semitic thing," said Mr Balls. “Graham Jones - I know him really well - was an MP. He is not a Corbynite, not hard left, and absolutely not anti Israel. In fact, if anything on the other side of that argument, he’s very, very deeply embedded and knowledgeable about the military."

 
billythekid said:
Former Labour MP Ed Balls told ITV's Good Morning Britain that he believes Mr Jones and Mr Ali had been told to go to the meeting to reassure the community that they were being listened to.

He said it is "untrue" to describe Mr Jones or his comments as anti-semitic.

"Azhar Ali said a terrible thing – an anti-semitic thing," said Mr Balls. “Graham Jones - I know him really well - was an MP. He is not a Corbynite, not hard left, and absolutely not anti Israel. In fact, if anything on the other side of that argument, he’s very, very deeply embedded and knowledgeable about the military."

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Loved (Terry) Graham Jones in Monty Python…they should be running the country. It couldn’t be any worse than it is now and at least it would be fun!
 
I’ve become very disillusioned with Labour since Starmer became leader but I’m not convinced by all this talk of antisemitism. It’s put about by the populist press that if you criticise the state of Israel you are an antisemite and that is often a big fat lie. If you criticise Saudi Arabia, are you an Islamophobe, if you criticise America, are you anti Christian? Of course not, you are criticising the state, not the people.
 
stanthevan said:
I’ve become very disillusioned with Labour since Starmer became leader but I’m not convinced by all this talk of antisemitism. It’s put about by the populist press that if you criticise the state of Israel you are an antisemite and that is often a big fat lie. If you criticise Saudi Arabia, are you an Islamophobe, if you criticise America, are you anti Christian? Of course not, you are criticising the state, not the people.
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Yeah sure . So you keep on saying .
 
stanthevan said:
I’ve become very disillusioned with Labour since Starmer became leader but I’m not convinced by all this talk of antisemitism. It’s put about by the populist press that if you criticise the state of Israel you are an antisemite and that is often a big fat lie. If you criticise Saudi Arabia, are you an Islamophobe, if you criticise America, are you anti Christian? Of course not, you are criticising the state, not the people.
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You’re absolutely correct Stanley. It’s a bit difficult to grasp when one state is conceptually/historically identified exclusively with one tradition or culture, but especially in those cases words are important to convey what you’re protesting about. It shouldn’t be beyond the wit of would-be politicians to choose the right words to express what they mean. And this is where they should also be banned from Social Media IMO (like children) - liking an inflammatory tweet is so easy, and often so stupid.
 
beds cherry said:
Well it's a concept that people can't seem to grasp.

Hate the IRA, not all Irish people is another example.
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Sure ..I’m not racist but ..is another one yes? …people like Stan the fantasist van seem to have to constantly tell people how not antisemmitic they are same as the Labor party apparently . Sorry no smoke without fire .
 
wallmth said:
Sure ..I’m not racist but ..is another one yes? …people like Stan the fantasist van seem to have to constantly tell people how not antisemmitic they are same as the Labor party apparently . Sorry no smoke without fire .
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Organisations that kill innocent people tend to get my goat. On either/any side.

A world with no bombs would make warfare a lot more honest.
 
beds cherry said:
Organisations that kill innocent people tend to get my goat. On either/any side.

A world with no bombs would make warfare a lot more honest.
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Not really . Innocent civilians , women and children have always suffered regardless of weather wars are thought with drones and missiles or by men in a field.
 
Don’t understand how not wanting tens of thousands of innocent children to be killed and the IDF to stop committing war crimes in Gaza is considered to be ‘anti-semetic’.
 
GARYafCb said:
Don’t understand how not wanting tens of thousands of innocent children to be killed and the IDF to stop committing war crimes in Gaza is considered to be ‘anti-semetic’.
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Straw man Gary.

Yes there should be room to criticise IDF or Netanyahu say, without straying into conspiracy and tropes from the 20th century far right.

news.sky.com

Sir Keir Starmer urged to suspend Labour members who attended meeting at centre of antisemitism row

Mike Katz of the Jewish Labour Movement criticises those who failed to "call out" comments about Israel at a meeting.
news.sky.com news.sky.com
 
What exactly is the issue with criticising British citizens who sign up to fight for the IDF? It's surely fair game to have the opinion that the actions of the IDF are out of order so surely someone volunteering for the IDF can be legitimately criticised.
 
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