Following his triumph in the Rochdale by-election, George Galloway marked the occasion by dropping another bombshell. Speaking to reporters at the count, Galloway was asked about the criticisms of Richard Tice, Reform party leader, who said that his candidate Simon Danczuk suffered intimidation throughout the campaign. Yet, in a shock twist, Galloway responded by claiming Tice had previously asked him to a Reform candidate. He told reporters:
I think Mr Tice has rather lost his balance, and Mr Farage too, and I remind Mr Tice that I have on my telephone a text from him inviting me to be the Reform UK candidate in a by-election not that long ago. I’d prefer not to publish it, but if he keeps telling lies about me I will have to tell the truth about him.
He added that ‘absolutely none’ of his supporters had engaged in bad behaviour: ‘Ask the police, ask the police if a single one of our supporters has been arrested or spoken to by them.’ In a statement, Tice responded:
I genuinely have no idea what Mr Galloway is referring to. It is clearly an attempt to distract attention away from the appalling way that this by-election in Rochdale has been conducted. In addition, notably, he has not condemned the appalling racist death threat against our Reform candidate and intimidation of our team and firebomb threats to our business supporters.
Will Galloway now show the text? Don’t hold your breath…
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