“This is for Gaza” said George Galloway, as he took to the stage having won yesterday’s chaotic Rochdale by-election.
A Labour loss, like this, at this point (with those polls) is remarkable. And so, whatever we might prefer, it begs some discussion.
What, if anything, does it mean? Well, almost nothing really.
It is important to dwell on the remarkableness of what has happened precisely to avoid overstating what has happened. Yes, Galloway stole a safe Labour seat in a by-election at a time when the Conservatives Party has never been more unpopular and the Labour Party rides high in the polls. Yes, he successfully leveraged the conflict in the Holy Land to return – yet again – to Parliament. But George Galloway does this. He did it in Bethnal Green. He did it in Bradford. He almost did it in Batley. It is what he does. In none of those instances has Galloway’s success translated into something bigger, something wider. He is a disruptor not a builder of movements.
Why is that?