‘The people of Rochdale have been let down’ by Labour’s handling of the Rochdale by-election, Burnham says

‘The people of Rochdale have been let down’ by Labour’s handling of the Rochdale by-election, Andy Burnham has said.

The Greater Manchester Mayor, speaking on BBC Radio Manchester on Thursday (15 February) also said he was ‘stunned’ to ‘read the comments’ of his party’s candidate, Azhar Ali, who was recorded making comments at a meeting suggesting Israel allowed its citizens to be killed to give it the go-ahead to invade Gaza.
 

Read more: Rochdale by-election: Labour's candidate criticised for Israel commentsPublished: 12 February 2024

After they came to light, Labour leadership initially stood by their man, who was Labour’s opposition group leader on Lancashire County Council at the time he was selected to stand in the by-election.

However, on 12 February, the party withdrew its support for Mr Ali, who will still appear on the ballot paper as the Labour man due to by-election rules meaning the party could not change its candidate.
 

Read more: Rochdale by-election: Labour withdraws support for candidate Azhar Ali after Israel commentsPublished: 13 February 2024

A Labour Party spokesperson said at the time: “Following new information about further comments made by Azhar Ali coming to light today, the Labour party has withdrawn its support for Azhar Ali as our candidate in the Rochdale by-election. Keir Starmer has changed Labour so that it is unrecognisible from the party of 2019.

“We understand that these are highly unusual circumstances but it is vital that any candidate put forward by Labour fully represents its aims and values. Given that nominations have now closed Azhar Ali cannot be replaced as the candidate.”

Quizzed on the situation on the ‘In The Hotseat’ programme on local radio, the mayor said: “I was stunned when I read the comments, as I have known him for 20 years. When I was in the Home Office as a minister, Azhar was an adviser to the minister and often spoke out against antisemitism and often spoke up for the Jewish community.

“I wouldn’t have appeared on a platform or provided an endorsement if I had known about them. They still feel totally out of character to me, but that’s not to make an excuse. It was right to take action and withdraw support.”

Mr Burnham went on to say he would have preferred there was ‘not a gap’ between the comments coming to light and the withdrawal of support. He added: “I think often in politics – again I am not making excuses, I’m just saying how it is – the world doesn’t move as quickly as it should sometimes. In the end the right decision was taken.”

Ultimately, Mr Burnham said the ‘people of Rochdale’ were ‘let down’ by the party’s handling of the situation. He said: “This is not a time to make excuses, I think there has to be some serious collective reflection by the Labour Party on this.

“The people of Rochdale have been let down by this because they have not been given the choice of candidates they should have had at an important by-election. It’s unprecedented, I can’t remember a similar situation in my career.

“I think it’s a really unfair outcome for the people of Rochdale – they should have been entitled to expect better from the Labour Party.”

Mr Ali has apologised ‘unreservedly’ for his comments. He said in a statement: “I apologise unreservedly to the Jewish community for my comments which were deeply offensive, ignorant, and false. Hamas’ horrific terror attack was the responsibility of Hamas alone, and they are still holding hostages who must be released.

“October 7th was the greatest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, and Jews in the UK and across the world are living in fear of rising antisemitism. I will urgently apologise to Jewish leaders for my inexcusable comments. The Labour Party has changed unrecognisably under Keir Starmer’s leadership, he has my full support in delivering the change Britain needs.”

The Rochdale by-election will take place on 29 February.

Ethan Davies, Local Democracy Reporter