George Galloway
From an electorate of 82,615 George Galloway of the Workers Party of Britain apparently achieved a landslide win, racking up 12,335 votes, which is just 14.9% of the electorate.
This is probably the first example we have seen where a small, but well organised minority community can achieve success at the ballot box.
Galloway campaigned on Gaza, Gaza and nothing but Gaza. The issues and concerns of the people of Rochdale are seemingly of less importance to him.
A single issue in a divided community on a contentious issue in a by-election where the main rival has been suspended by his party created the perfect conditions for Galloway to achieve success.
51,508 People Stayed at Home
When 62% of elegible voters stay at home because they are fed up with politics then we have a democratic problem. Not only because it creates opportunities for tribalism & sectarianism to thrive in a political system that isn’t designed to cope, but because politicians of any party or creed are not delivering for the people, are not engaging with the electorate.
By election turnouts are always lower than general elections, but with the exception of 2019, those too have been losing importance in the eyes of the electorate in recent times.
Postal Voting Increased
Out of 31,107 votes cast, a total of 24,000 were postal votes. Up massively from 13,000 in the 2019 general election. That is a massive 77% postal votes, meaning that in effect, the Rochdale by-election was all over two weeks ago when postal votes were posted. The last two weeks canvassing, door knocking and leafleting were all pointless.
Why has the postal vote share increased at such as a rate? Is it driven by the requirement for Photo ID to vote on the day? Or is it because postal votes are open to fraud. In the Peterborough by election in 2019 there were stories circulating about multiple postal votes being registered at old peoples homes.
Voting Fraud
On the day the voting papers were delivered, the houses were monitored and shortly after the postman visited, there would be a knock at the door and the unsuspecting occupant would be demanded to hand over the envelopes (in some cases with threats of violence). Once they have the voting papers, anyone can use them to vote how they see fit. If this isn’t a structural flaw in our electoral system I can’t imagine what one looks like.
It is beyond comprehension that the government has not been interested in resolving this gaping hole in our democratic process. I suppose that while you are winning in isn’t important and by the time you realise what a massive issue it is you will be out of office and unable to do anything about it.
Minorities Get Organised
A well organised minority will beat a disorganised, divided majority every time. The Muslim community operates a very effective bloc vote, where they all, or mostly follow their Imam’s guidance and vote in line with their Mosque. They will deny it and many do, but the evidence is fairly clear.
To garner a sizeable Muslim vote, you actually only need to gain the favour of a handful of Imams in any town or city.
What is actually encouraging is that Rochdale is 38% Muslim by population. That should equate to 31,393 votes if they were indeed all to vote the same way and all follow their Imam. This indicates that with 12,335 votes cast for George Galloway, 19,058 potential Muslim votes didn’t materialise.
First Past the Post
Under the FPTP (First past the Post) system, you can get your candidate elected in a by-election with just 14.9% of the total vote share.
The question we should be asking. That every candidate in every party should be asking is this; why are so many voters so disillusioned, so fed up with politics that they stay at home.
In Rochdale they had plenty of different options to choose from. Left wing Labour, Left wing Conservatives, Pro EU Lib Dems, Very Left wing Workers Party of Britain, Right Wing Reform UK and a variety of local issue independents. There was a choice but the vast majority chose not to vote rather than to do so.
Sunak Describes Galloway’s Rochdale Win as Beyond Alarming
Who are the “Far Right” threat that Sunak speaks of? In the last 8 years we have seen one very tragic far right attack on the MP Jo Cox. Almost without exception, all the other terrorist actions we have seen have been Islamist attacks. So I ask again, who are these “Far Right” groups that appear to be threatening us? I haven’t seen them.
What I have seen is the murder of Lee Rigby on the street in Woolwich in 2013, by two Islamic extremists, Adebolajo and Adebowale.
Jo Cox was killed in a Library in West Yorkshire in 2016. Her killer Thomas Mair was allegedly a longtime supporter of a U.S.-based neo-Nazi organization. Allegedly far right. My understanding of Nazis is that they are National Socialists, so more far left than far right.
In March 2017, 3 people were killed by Khalid Masood, on Westminster Bridge. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, calling Masood “a soldier of the Islamic State.”
Just two months later in may 2017, 22 people were killed in the Manchester Arena, Ariana Grande concert bombing. 59 others were injured. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on youngsters and children.
A month later in June 2017: London Bridge and Borough market attacks.
Later in June 2017: A van was driven into a crowd outside Finsbury park Mosque.
August 2017: Two police officers attacked near Buckingham Palace with a large bladed weapon. (a sword then).
Sept 2017: Parsons Green Tube Bombing
Aug 2018: Salih Khater drove into a crowd in Westminster near Parliament.
Dec 2018: Mahdi Mohamud stabbed 3 at Manchester, Victoria Station after shouting “Allahu Akbar!” and “Long live the Caliphate!” during the attack.
Nov 2019: Usman Khan, also known as Abu Saif, London Bridge stabbing, killed 2 and injured 3.
Jan 2020: Whitemoor prison, a Muslim convert stabbed several prison guards. Originally imprisoned for planning to behead a UK soldier, inspired by Lee Rigby murder.
Feb 2020: Streatham stabbing, Sudesh Amman injured 2, one severely.
March 2020: Greater Manchester, 7 year old Emily Jones was beheaded in a public park.
June 2020: Reading multiple stabbings, Khairi Saadallah, shouted “Allahu Akbar” during the attack.
Oct 2021: David Amess MP murdered in his constituency by Ali Harbi Ali.
Nov 2021: Liverpool Womens Hospital, Emad Al-Swealmeen detonated a homemade bomb, killing himself and injuring his taxi driver.
Oct 2022: Andrew Leak threw a fire bomb into a Dover migrant detention centre before killing himself.
We have been lucky in recent times, despite the political environment in the UK being if anything more volatile.
Rishi Sunak Gaslighting the Public
It comes to something when the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom gaslights the British public claiming that far right terrorism is as much of a threat as Islamist terrorism is. It clearly isn’t.
There is a fairly strong argument that, if there were no Muslim extremist terrorist attacks then there would have been no ‘Far Right’ attacks. They are to all appearances, predominantly a response to Islamist attacks.
There have been by quite a margin, significantly more Islamist terror attacks in the UK. We need to be able to have a conversation about these attacks.
We need to be able to discuss the school teacher who in March 2021 was suspended for showing a Charlie Hebdo image of Muhammed in class. In Britain we do not have a blasphemy law. We have freedom of speech. The Batley school teacher is still in hiding in March 2024, 3 years later.
We cannot bow to the mob, we cannot allow mob rule, for intimidation to change our rules, our laws.
There are plenty of countries where blasphemy laws exist and if you want to live within that kind of regime, might I respectfully suggest that you relocate to live in one of those countries.
We also had a case of an autistic boy who ‘scuffed’ a copy of the Koran in a playground. He and his mother had to plead for forgiveness at the local Mosque following death threats. The boy ended up in hiding, fearing for his life. Radical Islamist intimidation is unacceptable in the UK. While the school may have handled the situation badly, enflaming tensions there is no excuse for the conduct of many concerned. At the time, Local Labour councillor, Usman Ali, intervened and wrongly claimed on Twitter that the Koran was ‘desecrated’. It was not.
Police Weakness
The moment the police submit to pressure from a section on society, any section of society, they lose authority to police our streets safely and effectively.
A history of wanting to be all cuddly and inclusive has led to a series of incidents where our police have knelt before intimidating protests. A desperate desire to not appear racist has caused a greater problem, reverse racism. Whereby minority groups are given preferntial treatment to the native population.