George Galloway has swept to victory in tonight’s by-election.
But who were the men that previously represented Rochdale in Parliament?
Cyril Smith
Cyril Smith was the Liberal Party MP for Rochdale for 20 years from 1972 until 1992.
His stint as an MP is overshadowed by his long history of child sexual abuse.
In 2012, the Crown Prosecution Service formally admitted that Smith should have been charged during his lifetime.
The Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood said there was “overwhelming evidence” that young boys were sexually and physically abused by Smith.
A total of 144 complaints against Smith from victims as young as eight years of age had been received by the police.
Simon Danczuk
Having represented Rochdale as a Labour MP in Parliament from 2010 to 2017, Danczuk is now standing for the Reform UK party and is bidding to win back his seat from seven years ago.
Simon Danczuk represented Rochdale as Labour MP from 2010 to 2017.
He was blocked from standing in the 2017 general election following numerous scandals in the tabloids.
Most notably, Mr Danczuk was accused of ‘sexting’ a 17-year-old girl, which he denies.
He is now a member of the right-wing Reform UK party.
Mr Danczuk received just 6% of the vote in the 2024 Rochdale by-election.
Tony Lloyd
Tony Lloyd was voted in as the MP for Rochdale in 2017.
He had been in parliament for 36 years, with his original seat being in Stretford.
He is one of the longest-serving MPs in recent history.
Mr Lloyd served as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland.
He became Police and Crime Commissioner in 2012 and served until 2017.
His death on the 17th January 2024 triggered the by-election.
George Galloway
Mr Galloway is a former Labour MP who has in recent years stood with fringe parties in elections.
This is his third election win with all of them coming at the expense of Labour.
The two previous constituencies he has won were Bethnal Green and Bow and Bradford West.
His campaign ran on a pro-Palestine ticket, with Mr Galloway focusing on the Muslim vote.
He won a landslide victory with 40% of the vote.
Featured image credit: Charlie Valentine
