"He came here a few days ago, he went in all the shops, and every person, even on social media, is voting for him. I voted last time Labour, but this time definitely George Galloway." Until now, he said, "the Asian community was supporting Labour unconditionally". But not in the byelection on 29 February, because of Keir Starmer's refusal to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
A Labour canvasser wearing a red rosette waited for his chicken. The Guardian asked: "Are you not going to try to persuade him?" "Above my pay grade," the canvasser replied.
Quietly, he said he did not think Galloway would win. He'd been out all morning knocking on doors elsewhere in the constituency, where the demographics were different, and "Galloway didn't come up at all".
Chunky Chicken is in the ward of Milkstone and Deeplish, just outside Rochdale town centre, where 72% of people are Muslim, according to the 2021 census.
Galloway - the former Labour MP for Glasgow Kelvin (1987-97), the Respect party MP for Bethnal Green and Bow (2005-10) and Bradford West (2012-15), and now a candidate for the Workers Party of Britain, which he formed in 2019 - has been working the ward hard, when not hosting his YouTube talkshow or retweeting admiring posts about Vladimir Putin.
He walks the streets in his black fedora and Palestinian scarf, urging people to "lend" him their vote as the "ultimate protest" against Labour. They have "an opportunity sent by the Almighty to be a voice of Gaza in the world", he says.
Denne historien er fra February 12, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
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Denne historien er fra February 12, 2024-utgaven av The Guardian.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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