It's been 100 days since George Galloway won the Rochdale by-election.
Sitting in his Rochdale town centre office, George Galloway has spent much of the morning dealing with 'real complications' that have been developing with his party's campaign in Blackburn. Four weeks out from the general election , he is busy preparing a list of candidates to stand in seats across the country.
But with the deadline to nominate candidates having passed on Friday , the Workers Party appears to have fielded candidates in far fewer constituencies than Mr Galloway hoped for. According to Elections Map UK, the party has candidates standing in 151 seats. Still, the former Labour man, who was first elected to Parliament in 1987, is expecting to have several Workers Party MPs sat next to him on the backbenches of the House of Commons next month. "I'd be disappointed if we're not in double figures of MPs," he says.
Labour has now chosen Rochdale-born political journalist Paul Waugh - who lost out to Mr Ali at the last selection race - to stand against Mr Galloway at the general election. Mr Galloway himself admits that winning in a general election will 'no doubt' be harder. True to his word, he regularly spoke up about the war in Gaza and wider foreign policy. But he also raised issues relating to Rochdale.
"But we are at the bottom of a miserable league. We were worse on every index - as I put it in the debate - at the bottom of every table, you'd want to be at the top of and at the top of every table you'd want to be at the bottom of." Commenting later that day, the minister said she was keen to see improved access to maternity services across the country and would be willing to meet Mr Galloway again to discuss his proposal. But the Department of Health and Social Care, within which she serves as a junior minister for patient safety and primary care, said it does not directly commission maternity services at a local level.
The Greater Manchester ICB, which is chaired by the former Labour leader of Manchester council, Sir Richard Leese, is not a political organisation. However, Labour mayor Andy Burnham sits on the Integrated Care Partnership board alongside several councillors. The market, which was based at the Exchange Shopping Centre since 1978, closed nearly a decade ago. Mr Galloway, who has met with the Blackburn-based Adhan Group, which recently bought the retail centre, says that the market is now 'ready to open' again.
But, speaking to the M.E.N this week, Mr Galloway doubled down on his 'premature exclamation', claiming he already knew the club was saved in March, despite the Ogden deal only going through in May. "I was right," he insists. "Congratulate my long-sightedness."
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