Labour at risk of taking Muslim voters for granted, says thinktank

Rochdale byelection loss will shake MPs in seats with big Muslim populations, says Compass director

• UK politics live - latest updates

The Rochdale byelection result shows that Labour risks taking its support from Muslim votes for granted, an influential thinktank linked to the party has warned after the veteran agitator George Galloway won the seat with a single-issue campaign based around Gaza.

While a Galloway victory was anticipated after Labour cut adrift their candidate over inflammatory comments about Israel, the scale of the win - with almost 40% of the vote - reinforces concerns among some in the party that the refusal of the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza has dismayed many usual supporters, especially from Muslim communities.