Welcome to the programme. Here in the uk the left wing maverick, George Galloway has won the rochdale by election. Mr galloway who won by almost 6,000 votes made his support for the palestinian cause his dominant Campaign Theme in the constituency, which has a large asian muslim community. 0ur Political Correspondent peter saull reports from rochdale. I do hereby declare that George Galloway is duly elected. George galloway is nothing if not persistent. 37 years after he was first elected as a labour mp, he is on his way back to parliament determined to be a thorn in his former partys side. This is going to spark a movement, a landslide, a shifting of the Tectonic Plates in scores of parliamentary constituencies, beginning here in the north west. In the west midlands, in london, from ilford to Bethnal Green and bow, labour is on notice that they have lost the confidence of millions of their voters. Hes always divided opinion, though. George galloway you want to burn our future that protester hauled away after accusing rochdales new mp of denying climate change. You are well aware that youre a divisive figure. What are you going to do to speak to those in rochdale who will be pretty concerned, frankly, that. When i look at the result, it doesnt look all that divisive. It looks like the great majority of voters tonight voted for me. He will face plenty more scrutiny in the coming weeks and months, but his supporters were jubilant and partied into the early hours of the morning. This was, though, a bizarre contest, thrown wide open after labour dropped its candidate over remarks widely alleged to be anti semitic. Azhar ali had apologised but didnt turn up to the count. Another extraordinary sub plot was that of david tully, a local businessman who decided to run as an independent and came second, beating all of the main parties. The mainstream parties have been tried and tested, and thats what i wanted to stand up for. To voice, be a voice for the people. And there were angry recriminations about the campaign. This has been an extraordinary by Election Campaign. We are in a situation where a parliamentary election, we have to ask serious questions, has this been genuinely a free and Fair Election . Unfortunately the behaviour of certain candidates and their supporters raised serious doubts about that and they fall far short of our Traditional Democratic standards here in the uk. Much like its new mp, this quiet corner of Greater Manchester has a fascinating political history. In the 19th century, it was the birthplace of the cooperative movement. This morning, another chapter has been written and it provides a major headache for labour. Peter saull, bbc news. For those of you unfamiliar with George Galloway� s long career in politics, heres a short timeline of his different roles over the years. He first became an mp in 1987 for the Glasgow Hillhead constituency, which later became glasgow kelvin, for the labour party. In 2004, he became a member of the left wing respect party, and became the partys leader by late 2013 until it dissolved in 2016. He founded the Workers Party of britain in 2019, the party hes just won a parliamentary seat for in rochdale. Hes been one of the most outspoken politicians here in the uk over the years, becoming one of the most prominent critics of The War In Iraq and a supporter of the palestinian cause. Those views have often been seen as controversial by some, his comments on israel in particular have drawn accusations of anti semitism. Were joined now by polling expert sirjohn curtice, professor of politics at the university of strathclyde. Welcome. You have seen your fair share of by elections. How remarkable is the outcome of this one . , ,. , one . The honest truth is that this is a truly remarkable one . The honest truth is that this is a truly remarkable outcome. I one . The honest truth is that this | is a truly remarkable outcome. Let me just to give you a couple of statistics. This is now the second time that George Galloway has managed to wind a by election in a muslim constituency, representing a party that is not currently represented inside the House Of Commons. That has only happened on six occasions in the whole of the post war period. George galloway is responsible for two of them. The second is that, of those are turned out, only one in five voted for either labour or the Conservative Party. Thats the two principal parties in the united kingdom. That is very easily an all time low. So you can see that this is a very, very unusual result. The question we are really asking ourselves now is, well, is this our unique by election result, in unique and unusual circumstances, or does it have potentially wider ramifications for the future of british politics as we head towards a General Election, probably in the autumn . That was auoin to probably in the autumn . That was going to be probably in the autumn . That was going to be my probably in the autumn . That was going to be my next probably in the autumn . That was going to be my next question, probably in the autumn . That was going to be my next question, in l going to be my next question, in terms of what can we draw from this, in terms of what might happen in the next General Election. John, you often have a note of caution about reading too much into by Election Results . Reading too much into byElection Results . �. , reading too much into byElection Results . �. , , reading too much into byElection Results . �. , ,. , results . Ive already suggested that one needs to results . Ive already suggested that one needs to be results . Ive already suggested that one needs to be particularly results . Ive already suggested that one needs to be particularly careful| one needs to be particularly careful about this by election. George galloway has a unique ability to appeal to those from a muslim background. This is the third constituency he has managed to wind with a substantial Muslim Population since he stopped being the labour mp for Glasgow Hillhead is. So he is a charismatic politician, very strong rhetorical ability, frankly unmatched by anybody else currently in british politics. That said, too things that we should take away, one is that we already know that there was unease inside sections of the labour party, particularly labour mps who represent constituencies with substantial Muslim Populations, about the fact that a sir keir starmer, the labour leader, has been relatively reluctant to criticise israel. He has been no more critical about israel and its involvement in gaza than the uk government or the Us Administration in washington. That has left labour mps with large muslim constituencies, Muslim Populations, rather unhappy, because they are concerned that perhaps there will be other independent candidates standing against them at the General Election. The truth is, most of these mps have large majorities, its unlikely we are going to get candidates over the ability of George Galloway standing elsewhere. But it is going to increase the tension inside the labour party. However, despite labours difficulties, the Conservative Party vote fell by 19 Percentage Points in this constituency. That is the biggest fall in the conservative vote in a by election in this parliament where labour are defending a seat. Itjust underlines the message we have had from other by elections in the uk in the last six months or so, including most recently in wellingborough, that the incumbent conservative government is still deeply unpopular. Hitherto, in most by elections that disgruntlement in the British Public has been reflected in large swings to labour. With labour having disowned their candidate in rochdale, and that was crucial, their vote as a result plummeted. So voters in rochdale sought other ways of expressing their disgruntlement, one for George Galloway and the other, quite remarkably, for a local independent candidate. Eur remarkably, for a local independent candidate. ,. , ~ candidate. Surjohn curtice, thank ou for candidate. Surjohn curtice, thank you for giving candidate. Surjohn curtice, thank you for giving us candidate. Surjohn curtice, thank you for giving us some candidate. Surjohn curtice, thank you for giving us some context. I well ellie reeves is labours Deputy National campaign co ordinator. Speaking on the today programme in the last hour she said it would have been a different result had labour had a candidate in the race. Lets take a listen. We regret not standing a candidate in the rochdale by election. We apologise to the people of rochdale for that. Apologise to the people of rochdale forthat. If apologise to the people of rochdale for that. If labour had stood, i dont believe George Galloway would have won. 0urjob is to select a Labour Candidate for the General Election we are expecting this year, someone who can work with all of the communities and rochdale to rebuild trust. , , trust. Ellie reeves, the deputy cam aiun trust. Ellie reeves, the Deputy Campaign coordinator trust. Ellie reeves, the Deputy Campaign coordinator for trust. Ellie reeves, the deputy i Campaign Coordinator for labour. Live now to rochdale and our Political Correspondent hannah miller. We heard labour saying if we had fielded a candidate, we would have won. Is there any validity to that . I mean, its impossible to know without running the whole election again, isnt it . I think there is some sense that may be the case. Its clearly the case that there were no Labour Campaign posters and placards, there was no chance for them going round of the doorsteps, countering any of the narrative that was coming from George Galloway and that kind of Ground Operation in the Election Campaign which can help to change voters minds. That said, its not the first time George Galloway has beaten the labour party. He did it previously in bradford west, and in a sense it is possible to raise an eyebrow, the party has struggled on the issue of israel and gaza, and there are mps that admit they have lost the trust of some muslim voters. In that sense, whether George Galloway may have won even if labour had stood, it is something that we will never know. Clearly, it is a convenient narrative for the labour party to be using this morning as they have tried to move away from the israel and gaza issue, and if united around that, and look ahead to a General Election. Hannah, thank ou. Ahead to a General Election. Hannah, thank you our ahead to a General Election. Hannah, thank you. Our political thank you. Our Political Correspondent hannah miller, live in rochdale. France is demanding an � independent probe into the deaths of more than 100 palestinians desperately seeking aid from a rare convoy in gaza city, after calling it unjustifiable. The un says the last time aid was delivered to Northern Gaza was over a month ago, leading to starvation. These drone pictures released by the idf Show People Swarming to the aid covoy. As International Criticism mounts, israel has admitted that its soldiers had opened fire. The idf said they were concerned about security while most of the deaths happened in an ensuing crush. Some palestinians say israeli troops fired directly at them. The un secretary general, antonio guterres, said he was shocked to learn that over 100 people had been killed. Hes called for an independent investigation to identify those responsible. President biden called the incident tragic and alarming. Hes also expressed concern that efforts to broker a temporary ceasefire between israel and hamas may now be in jeopardy. Live now tojerusalem and our middle East Correspondent yolande knell. Are we any closer in establishing exactly what did happen . What are we any closer in establishing exactly what did happen . What is ve clear exactly what did happen . What is very clear from exactly what did happen . What is very clear from the exactly what did happen . What is very clear from the pictures exactly what did happen . What is very clear from the pictures that l exactly what did happen . What is l very clear from the pictures that we have seen is that these are completely desperate scenes, that people in north of gaza, as we have been told by the un repeatedly for weeks now, starving. There has been a huge shortage of aid getting through. 0nly a huge shortage of aid getting through. Only this week, a few convoys have been allowed. This was a privately contracted convoy with aid coming into the gaza strip, with the Israeli Military overseeing proceedings there. We are told that people came from across the north of the strip, really making their way to this site on the coastal road, just south of gaza city, as an aid distribution point. There were chaotic scenes, as the aid arrived. Still starkly contrasting accounts of what happened. When you hear from Health Officials in hospitals that dealt with the casualties, they were overwhelmed by the casualties in Northern Gaza. They say that many of those they saw had Gunshot Wounds to the upper body and witnesses have said that lorries did run over people as well after Israeli Soldiers opened fire and people really began panicking. The Israeli Military has a very different story. It says most of those killed were crushed to death in a stampede as people were looting from the lorries, and that led to the lorries running some people over as well. They said that Israeli Soldiers fired only warning shots to try to drive back the crowds, and there was more than one incident that happened here. I think there are these calls for an independent investigation coming from the un. Lots of calls from other International Players for the facts to be made clear. People are shocked and appalled by the scenes, and most of all it underlines how much aid is desperately needed, and a plan to distribute aid, to get it through to the people who need it. The distribute aid, to get it through to the people who need it. The people who need it. The us president. The people who need it. The us president , joe the people who need it. The us president , joe biden, the people who need it. The us| president , joe biden, expressed concern that the incident would complicate efforts by mediators to broker a temporary ceasefire. Do we know what effect its had on the progress of that so far . Welcome of course, progress of that so far . Welcome of course. There progress of that so far . Welcome of course, there are progress of that so far . Welcome of course, there are these progress of that so far . Welcome of course, there are these Talks Progress of that so far . Welcome of course, there are these talks taking | course, there are these talks taking place, indirectly in qatar, with Qatar Mediating between hamas and israel. More technical delegations that are present at the moment. The hope had been to try to get a longer term truce in place that would see the release of some of the remaining hostages held by hamas through the islamic holy month of ramadan. President biden, admitting the efforts have become more complicated because we also heard from a hamas official, saying they could potentially be derailed by what happened. The white house saying that mr biden had been speaking to qatar and egyptian mediators as well, the suggestion they are trying to keep things on track. fiur well, the suggestion they are trying to keep things on track. To keep things on track. Our middle East Correspondent, to keep things on track. Our middle East Correspondent, yolande to keep things on track. Our middle East Correspondent, yolande, to keep things on track. Our middle East Correspondent, yolande, live i to keep things on track. Our middle | East Correspondent, yolande, live in jerusalem. Around the world and across the uk. This is bbc news. Lets look at some other stories