Galloway's election win exposes UK divisions over Gaza

Roadblocks to victory

While Galloway's party remains positioned on the fringes of the political mainstream, there will certainly be concern within Labour ranks, where Starmer has struggled to maintain a united position on the Gaza crisis, that Galloway's supporters could still inflict enormous damage at the general election.

Labour currently enjoys a sizeable advantage over the ruling Conservative Party in the opinion polls, regularly registering leads of around 20% over their Tory rivals, which, if replicated at the general election, would see Labour forming the next government and bringing 14 years of Tory rule to an end.

Any attempt by Galloway to split the Labour vote by getting his own supporters to contest a number of key seats could result in Starmer failing to gain the necessary seats to become the next prime minister.

Galloway claims that his party aims to field 59 parliamentary candidates at the election who will compete against the official Labour candidates in seats that have significant Muslim communities in areas such as London, Birmingham, and the north of England.

Even if Galloway's candidates fail to win the seats, they could seriously damage Labour's chances of winning by splitting the vote, thereby enabling candidates from rival parties, such as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, to steal victory.

Among those likely to come under pressure from Galloway's tactics is deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner, who currently holds a 4,263 majority in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency on the outskirts of Manchester.

Galloway claims he could easily overturn her majority because "there's at least 15,000 supporters of my point of view in her constituency."

Starmer's alienating position

Galloway's return to mainstream British politics—with the new MP taking his seat in the House of Commons a few days after his election victory—will certainly pile the pressure on Starmer to adopt a more robust stance on the Gaza crisis.

Starmer's position since the 7 October attacks has been to support Israel while also supporting international efforts for a humanitarian ceasefire.

But his equivocal position has angered and alienated many Labour supporters, who believe that he should be both more critical of Israel and more supportive of the Palestinian cause.

Strong anti-Israel sentiments within the Labour party have even resulted in accusations of anti-Semitism, an issue that was ultimately responsible for Labour being forced to withdraw its support for its own candidate in the Rochdale by-election, Azhar Ali, after he claimed Israel had "allowed" Hamas to conduct 7 October attack. Labour's decision opened the way for Galloway to claim victory.

At the very least, Galloway's success will pressure Starmer to adopt a more humane stance on Gaza.

Nor is it just the opposition Labour Party that is feeling the heat on the Gaza question. The issue has prompted suggestions of splits emerging within the ranks of the ruling Conservative Party.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak maintains his party's traditional support for Israel, while former prime minister Lord Cameron appears to be taking a more nuanced view, suggesting that the UK could recognise an independent Palestinian state before negotiations on resolving the Israel-Palestinian issue have even taken place.

Indeed, during a lively debate in the House of Lords on Gaza this week, Cameron warned that Britain's patience was wearing thin over Israel's failure to provide sufficient quantities of aid to the enclave, where aid workers have reported that Palestinian civilians are suffering from starvation.

Therefore, Galloway's surprise election victory does not just represent a significant challenge to Labour and its hopes of forming the next British government.

It also highlights the deep divisions that exist within the entire British establishment on the Gaza issue—one that MPs of all political persuasions will be hoping will be resolved as soon as possible.