Yahoo News Labour's deputy leader in Manchester ousted by George Galloway's party
Manchester council's deputy leader has been ousted by George Galloway's party. Labour councillor Luthfur Rahman has lost his seat in Longsight to the Workers Party of Britain following a tense battle in which the war in Gaza has been at the forefront of campaigning.
It comes after Mr Galloway said that the Workers Party which he leads would treat the election in the Manchester ward like a parliamentary by-election. The Rochdale MP is also hoping to win seats in the town where he won a by-election in February.
His party have fielded candidates across Greater Manchester, including six in Manchester. The loss of the deputy leader in Longsight - which has been a safe Labour seat for years - is a huge blow for the party which holds a comfortable majority at the town hall.
The Workers Party is also hoping to unseat Labour's deputy leader in Bury. The results for Redvales ward are yet to be declared.
Coun Rahman was first elected to Longsight in 2008 and has risen the ranks to become deputy leader at Manchester council. He hoped to take over from Sir Richard Leese as council leader, but lost narrowly to Burnage councillor Bev Craig who is now in charge.
He has now lost his seat at Manchester council with Workers Party candidate Shahbaz Sarwar winning by a margin of 185 votes - 2,444 to 2,259. Both candidates put the Palestinian flag on their campaign posters with the war in Gaza thought to be a big factor behind the result.
Asked if his win was down to anger over the Gaza war or local issues, the newly-elected councillor said: "I think it's 50-50. When you look at Gaza, the issues there, it needs to be resolved. Labour needs to call for a permanent ceasefire. It needs to stand for humanity.
"And when you look here, the ward that I'm representing now has been neglected. It's never worked on."
The Middle East conflict, and criticism of Labour's stance on it, has been a significant factor in several areas across Greater Manchester so far. This includes Oldham council where Labour no longer holds a majority after losing five seats overall to independent candidates.
In Bolton, Labour lost two areas with high Muslim populations, scuppering its chances of securing a majority. Labour also lost a seat in Tameside's St Peter's ward where an independent candidate wearing a rosette in the colours of the Palestinian flag beat the party.
But voters in Longisght told the Manchester Evening News ahead of the election that there were other issues on their mind too. Local councillors were caught up in a row outside a mosque in Longsight last week with videos of the incident circulating on social media.
Labour councillor Abid Chohan, who appears in the videos, said that, while outside Iqra Mosque last week, he heard someone say "don't vote for the Bengali", allegedly referring to Mr Rahman. The Workers Party dismissed allegations of racism as 'utter nonsense'.
