George Galloway 1987: First Elected
George Galloway’s dramatic win in the Rochdale by-election on 29 February 2024 sent shockwaves through British politics. Yet this was not his first time shaking up Westminster. For more than four decades, Galloway has been a master of the political comeback—elected to Parliament seven times, representing five constituencies across three different parties.
His first success came in 1987, when he fought off internal Labour opposition from figures like Denis Healey to be selected in Glasgow Hillhead. There, he unseated none other than Roy Jenkins, former Home Secretary, Chancellor, and one of the “Gang of Four” who had founded the SDP in 1981.
Though often in conflict with his own party, he remained a Labour MP until 2003, shifting to the redrawn Glasgow Kelvin seat in 1997.
George Galloway 2005: The Ghost of Old Labour
By 2003, Labour had had enough. His fierce opposition to the Iraq War—and remarks urging British troops to disobey “illegal orders”—saw him expelled.
Never one to retreat, he founded Respect – The Unity Coalition and stood in Bethnal Green and Bow, then the UK’s poorest constituency. His campaign targeted Labour MP Oona King’s support for the war, and though it was condemned by critics as divisive, it produced what the BBC described as “one of the most remarkable results in modern British electoral history.”
With a 26.2% swing, Galloway toppled King, declaring: “All the lies you’ve told have come back to haunt you… It was a defeat for Tony Blair and New Labour and all of the betrayals.”
Though Respect only secured one seat, Galloway had once again forced himself into national headlines. His single term, however, is often remembered less for speeches in Parliament and more for his surreal appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, where he famously mimed being a cat drinking milk from actress Rula Lenska’s hands.
George Galloway 2012: The “Bradford Spring”
In 2012, Galloway staged yet another unlikely return—this time in Bradford West. Labour had held the seat since 1970, but Galloway stormed to victory with 55.9% of the vote, a majority of over 10,000.
Declaring the result the “Bradford Spring,” he compared his victory to the Arab uprisings then sweeping the Middle East. It was his highest ever vote tally, with 18,000 supporters backing him.
But as ever with Galloway, the comeback did not last. In 2015, Labour regained the seat, with Naz Shah defeating him by more than 11,000 votes.
2016: The Mayor That Wasn’t
After Bradford, Galloway sought another platform, entering the London mayoral race in 2016. Promising to represent “every piece of the mosaic of this city,” he hoped to follow the path of Ken Livingstone, another left-wing outsider who had made the leap.
But while Livingstone had grassroots support, Galloway’s campaign faltered. He finished seventh with just 37,000 votes, often polling under 1%. The contest was ultimately won by Labour’s Sadiq Khan, who became London’s first Muslim mayor.
Within months, the Respect Party was deregistered.
George Galloway 2019: On the Wane?
By 2019, Galloway’s political fortunes seemed over. Running as an independent in West Bromwich East—the former seat of Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson—he secured only 489 votes, losing his deposit. It was the only time in his long career that he failed to place within the top three.
George Galloway 2021–2024: Keir Starmer’s Headache
Yet Galloway remained a thorn in Labour’s side. In the Batley and Spen by-election of 2021, he won 22% of the vote, nearly splitting Labour’s support.
Three years later came his biggest modern comeback. In Rochdale, Labour’s candidate Azhar Ali was forced out over antisemitic remarks too late to be replaced. Sensing an opportunity, Galloway campaigned heavily on Gaza and Palestine—issues that resonated strongly in a constituency with a one-third Muslim population, where Labour’s stance on the Gaza conflict had alienated many.
The result was devastating for Labour: Galloway won with nearly 6,000 votes to spare, independents surged, and the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats collapsed. The outcome represented the fourth largest by-election swing in modern British history, a 41.8% collapse in Labour’s support.
“This is for Gaza”
In his victory speech, Galloway declared: “Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza.” He accused Labour of enabling “the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.”
It was his second by-election triumph and his seventh overall parliamentary win, making Rochdale the fifth constituency he had represented and the third party he had sat for in Parliament.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the result “alarming,” while Starmer apologised for Labour’s mishandling of the contest.
2024 General Election: A Brief Return
But Galloway’s triumph was short-lived. At the July 2024 general election, he lost Rochdale to Labour’s Paul Waugh, who reclaimed the seat with 13,047 votes to Galloway’s 11,508. His second spell as MP for a northern constituency lasted just 92 days.
2025: Back to Scotland
In June 2025, Galloway made headlines once again by reversing his long-held opposition to Scottish independence. He declared support for a second referendum, citing “the collapsing authority of the British state.”
In August 2025, he went further, announcing plans to contest the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections as the Workers Party candidate for Glasgow Southside. He also confirmed his name would be on the regional list for Glasgow. It marked a return to his Scottish roots, decades after first entering Parliament in Glasgow Hillhead.
The Survivor
George Galloway’s career has been defined by shock victories, crushing defeats, controversy, and reinvention. From expulsion to electoral triumph, from Parliament to reality television, from London mayoral hopeful to Scottish independence supporter, he remains one of the most colourful—and divisive—figures in modern British politics.
Whether or not he returns to Holyrood in 2026, his latest moves prove once again that George Galloway is a survivor, never to be counted out.
