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Labour has withdrawn its support for Rochdale by-election candidate Azhar Ali following criticism of remarks he made about Israel.

However, he will still appear on the ballot as the party’s candidate on Thursday 29 February.

Politics latest: Labour in ‘absolute mess’ over by-election

So, what happened and why can’t he be replaced?

Mr Ali’s candidacy for the by-election was thrown into the spotlight after reports he told a meeting of the Lancashire Labour Party that Israel deliberately allowed the Hamas 7 October attacks to take place in order to give it the “green light” to invade Gaza.

He issued an “unreserved” apology for the “deeply offensive, ignorant and false” remarks and Labour initially stood by him, saying he had “fallen for a conspiracy theory”.

But less than 48 hours later, further comments came to light and Labour withdrew support for the candidate.

A report in the Daily Mail on Monday evening claimed Mr Ali blamed “people in the media from certain Jewish quarters” for fuelling criticism of a pro-Palestinian Labour MP, as well as claiming Israel planned to “get rid of [Palestinians] from Gaza” and “grab” some of the land.

A party spokesperson said: “Following new information about further comments made by Azhar Ali coming to light today, the Labour Party has withdrawn its support for Azhar Ali as our candidate in the Rochdale by-election.”

Labour acknowledged the circumstances were “highly unusual”.

The spokesperson added: “Given that nominations have now closed, Azhar Ali cannot be replaced as the candidate.”

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‘Tremendous task to rebuild trust’

Why can’t Labour replace Ali?

According to Electoral Commission rules, a candidate can only pull out of a race if they submit a withdrawal notice by the deadline for withdrawals (which is by 4pm, 19 working days before the poll).

The deadline for the Rochdale by-election passed on 2 February.

That means Mr Ali will appear on the ballot paper as the Labour candidate when voters go to the polls.

What happens if Ali wins?

However, if Mr Ali wins the by-election, he will not become a Labour MP. Instead, he will sit as an independent.

That’s because by withdrawing support, Labour has effectively removed the whip were he to be selected as the constituency’s next MP.

Having the whip withdrawn is a severe punishment which means you are kicked out of the parliamentary party.

Other former Labour MPs this has happened to include former party leader Jeremy Corbyn and veteran left-wing MP Diane Abbott.

Both of those cases were to do with rows over antisemitism, which Sir Keir Starmer has promised to tear out of his party following the controversies that dogged the Corbyn era.

Labour candidate for Rochdale, Azhar Ali, is joined by Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham (right) in Rochdale as he launches his campaign for the up-coming Rochdale.
Pic: PA
Image:
Azhar Ali at his campaign launch event. Pic: PA

Why is there a by-election and who else is standing?

The decision to withdraw backing for Mr Ali will come as a blow to Labour, which had hoped to retain the seat following the death last month of veteran sitting MP Sir Tony Lloyd.

It also means Labour will need to find a new candidate to contest the seat at the upcoming general election.

Also running in Rochdale are former Labour MP Simon Danczuk, now the Reform Party candidate, and George Galloway, of the Workers Party of Britain, who is campaigning against Labour’s stance on Gaza.

What questions remain for Sir Keir Starmer?

The party leadership is being pressed on why Mr Ali was not immediately suspended after the initial comments emerged.

Labour recently suspended MP Kate Osamor after she appeared to say the Gaza war should be remembered as genocide on Holocaust Memorial Day.

And Sir Keir has repeatedly promised to tear antisemitism out “by its roots” in Labour.

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‘I ‘will rip antisemitism out’

A spokesperson for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said that rather than appearing as a principled decision, Labour’s withdrawal of support “looks as expedient as the failed attempt to defend him”.

Meanwhile, Martin Forde KC, who led a review into the party’s culture under Mr Corbyn, said Labour MPs feel there has been a “disparity in treatment” of allegations of antisemitism within the party.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “One does have to question how such individuals are selected in the first place, and also the disparity in treatment, because one of the things that concerned us when we talked about weaponisation was certainly the perception that antisemitism was along factional lines.”

How are candidates selected?

Mr Ali, the leader of Lancashire County Council’s Labour group, was chosen by local party members last month after making it on to the candidate shortlist with two other people – political journalist Paul Waugh and Wigan councillor Nazia Rehman.

Lord Mann, the government’s antisemitism adviser and a former Labour MP, told Sky News the filters in place during Labour’s selection process were “clearly not good enough” and Sir Keir will likely be “fuming”.

He added that “heads may roll” over the decision to shortlist Mr Ali, and the move to withdraw support was “bold and brave”.

He said this has “never happened before” in a by-election, adding: “I think the Jewish community, as it reflects on this, will take great comfort in the fact that Keir Starmer has been prepared to do it. It’s certainly a bold move.”

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5 countries where crypto is (surprisingly) tax-free in 2025

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5 countries where crypto is (surprisingly) tax-free in 2025

5 countries where crypto is (surprisingly) tax-free in 2025

Looking to live tax-free with crypto in 2025? These five countries, including the Cayman Islands, UAE and Germany, still offer legal, zero-tax treatment for cryptocurrencies.

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Children with special needs will ‘always’ have ‘legal right’ to support, education secretary says

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Children with special needs will 'always' have 'legal right' to support, education secretary says

The education secretary has said children with special needs will “always” have a legal right to additional support as she sought to quell a looming row over potential cuts.

The government is facing a potential repeat of the debacle over welfare reform due to suggestions it could scrap tailored plans for children and young people with special needs in the classroom.

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Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Bridget Phillipson failed to rule out abolishing education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – legally-binding plans to ensure children and young people receive bespoke support in either mainstream or specialist schools.

Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, said parents’ anxiety was “through the roof” following reports over the weekend that EHCPs could be scrapped.

She said parents “need and deserve answers” and asked: “Can she confirm that no parent or child will have their right to support reduced, replaced or removed as a result of her planned changes?”

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Sophy’s thought on whether to scrap EHCPs

Ms Phillipson said SEND provision was a “serious and complex area” and that the government’s plans would be set out in a white paper that would be published later in the year.

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“I would say to all parents of children with SEND, there is no responsibility I take more seriously than our responsibility to some of the most vulnerable children in our country,” she said.

“We will ensure, as a government, that children get better access to more support, strengthened support, with a much sharper focus on early intervention.”

ECHPs are drawn up by local councils and are available to children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is provided by the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) budget.

They identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs.

In total, there were 638,745 EHCPs in place in January 2025 – up 10.8% on the same point last year.

‘Rebel ready’

One Labour MP said they were concerned the government risked making the “same mistakes” over ECHPs as it did with the row over welfare, when it was eventually forced into a humiliating climbdown in the face of opposition by Labour MPs.

“The political risk is much higher even than with welfare, and I’m worried it’s being driven by a need to save money which it shouldn’t be,” they told Sky News.

“Some colleagues are rebel ready.”

The MP said the government should be “charting a transition from where we are now to where we need to be”, adding: “That may well be a future without ECHPs, because there is mainstream capacity – but that cannot be a removal of current provision.”

Later in the debate, Ms Phillipson said children with special educational needs and disabilities would “always” have a “legal right” to additional support as she accused a Conservative MP of attempting to “scare” parents.

“The guiding principle of any reform to the SEND system that we will set out will be about better support for children, strengthened support for children and improved support for children, both inside and outside of special schools,” she said.

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“Improved inclusivity in mainstream schools, more specialist provision in mainstream schools, and absolutely drawing on the expertise of the specialist sector in creating the places where we need them, there will always be a legal right … to the additional support… that children with SEND need.”

Her words were echoed by schools minister Catherine McKinnell, who also did not rule out changing ECHPs.

She told the Politics Hub With Sophy Ridge that the government was “focused on reforming the whole system”.

“Children and families have been left in a system where they’ve had to fight for their child’s education, and that has to change,” she said.

She added that EHCPs have not necessarily “fixed the situation” for some children – but for others it’s “really important”.

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Government to ban ‘appalling’ non-disclosure agreements that silence victims of abuse at work

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Government to ban 'appalling' non-disclosure agreements that silence victims of abuse at work

Victims will no longer have to “suffer in silence”, the government has said, as it pledges to ban non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) designed to silence staff who’ve suffered harassment or discrimination.

Accusers of Harvey Weinstein, the former film producer and convicted sex offender, are among many in recent years who had to breach such agreements in order to speak out.

Labour has suggested an extra section in the Employment Rights Bill that would void NDAs that are intended to stop employees going public about harassment or discrimination.

The government said this would allow victims to come forward about their situation rather than remain “stuck in unwanted situations, through fear or desperation”.

Zelda Perkins, former assistant to Harvey Weinstein, led the calls for wrongful NDAs to be banned. Pic: Reuters
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Zelda Perkins, former assistant to Harvey Weinstein, led the calls for wrongful NDAs to be banned. Pic: Reuters

Zelda Perkins, Weinstein’s former assistant and founder of Can’t Buy My Silence UK, said the changes would mark a “huge milestone” in combatting the “abuse of power”.

She added: “This victory belongs to the people who broke their NDAs, who risked everything to speak the truth when they were told they couldn’t. Without their courage, none of this would be happening.”

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said the government had “heard the calls from victims of harassment and discrimination” and was taking action to prevent people from having to “suffer in silence”.

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Weinstein found guilty of sex crime in retrial

An NDA is a broad term that describes any agreement that restricts what a signatory can say about something and was originally intended to protect commercially sensitive information.

Currently, a business can take an employee to court and seek compensation if they think a NDA has been broken – even if that person is a victim or witness of harassment or discrimination.

“Many high profile cases” have revealed NDAs are being manipulated to prevent people “speaking out about horrific experiences in the workplace”, the government said.

Announcing the amendments, employment minister Justin Madders said: “The misuse of NDAs to silence victims of harassment or discrimination is an appalling practice that this government has been determined to end.”

The bill is currently in the House of Lords, where it will be debated on 14 July, before going on to be discussed by MPs as well.

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