A pro-Palestinian firebrand has won the British by-election in a bizarre manner.

• The Workers Party of Britain gained its first Member of Parliament in Britain's House of Commons with the former Labour MP winning 12,335 votes and a majority of 5,697.
• Galloway's campaign emphasized the struggles of Palestinians and targeted Muslim voters, who comprise about 30% of the local electorate.
• The election in one of England's most deprived towns was thrown open when the U.K.'s main opposition Labour Party withdrew its support for its candidate Azhar Ali after recordings emerged of alleged antisemitic comments.

On Thursday, George Galloway, a staunchly pro-Palestinian left-wing firebrand, won a chaotic by-election in Rochdale, northwestern England, with the Israel-Gaza conflict being a defining factor.

The former Labour MP, who was running for the Workers Party of Britain, received 12,335 votes and a majority of 5,697, marking his party's first-ever election win in Britain's House of Commons. This victory will be Galloway's fifth constituency in 37 years, as he has now defeated his former party in three separate elections.

Galloway's campaign emphasized the struggles of Palestinians, targeting the 30% of Muslim voters in the local electorate who were frustrated with the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the inaction of the two major political parties in securing an immediate ceasefire.

An independent candidate, local businessman Paul Tully, secured 6,638 votes and finished in second place in the by-election, despite only beginning his political career four weeks ago.

The Labour Party withdrew its support for its candidate Azhar Ali in an England town election after recordings of alleged antisemitic comments surfaced.

Since the party withdrew its support for the candidate so close to the election, it was too late to remove his name from the ballot or for the party, which is the favorite to win the general election, to field another candidate.

Despite not having the support of the Labour Party, Ali received only 2,402 votes, falling behind Conservative Paul Ellison's 3,371 votes in the recent by-election, which marks another disappointing outcome for the ruling party that has experienced a series of losses in by-elections over the past year.

In his victory speech, Galloway criticized both Labour leader Keir Starmer and Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

"Gaza will exact a high price for the role you played in enabling, encouraging, and covering up the ongoing catastrophe in occupied Palestine," Starmer stated.

Starmer has called for a "permanent ceasefire" after months of pressure from within his own Labour Party and from the Scottish National Party in parliament. However, Labour's official position has been to focus on a sustainable negotiated ceasefire agreed by both sides of the conflict, rather than to issue demands for an immediate ceasefire to Israel without the same guarantee from Hamas.

The by-election was held after the death in January of the town's Labour MP Tony Lloyd from leukaemia.

The party on Friday expressed regret to the people of Rochdale for not having a candidate, and its deputy national campaign coordinator Ellie Reeves stated on Sky News that Galloway incites division and fear, and that this was not how they desired the situation to unfold.

Galloway's seat may be taken back by Labour in the upcoming general election.