What on earth is going on in the Rochdale byelection? – podcast

It was all supposed to be so different. Labour was riding high in the polls and expecting to comfortably win the byelection in Rochdale. Then came the Gaza war and Muslim voters began turning against the party. Next, political agitator George Galloway turned up to try to capture those votes. And finally came even worse news – remarks by the Labour party’s candidate in Rochdale were leaked, which led to a row about antisemitism. Prospective MP, Azhar Ali, apologised for his “offensive” remarks, in which he said Israel had allowed the 7 October massacre. But then came another leak – and, finally, Labour withdrew its support for him.

Now Keir Starmer finds himself – yet again – having to defend his party against claims it is soft on antisemitism. Meanwhile, the candidate the party has withdrawn support from remains on the ballot paper as an independent because it is too late to remove him. At the same time, the former Labour MP, Simon Danczuk – suspended after a sex scandal – is seeking re-election as a Reform candidate. And a Green MP has withdrawn after comments he made about the war in Gaza and Muslims.

Helen Pidd has been covering the election, and speaking to people in Rochdale about this chaotic political process. She tells Nosheen Iqbal how voters are feeling and what really matter to them.