The surprising results of the Rochdale by-election

I don't mean the winner George Galloway, I mean the man who came second, independent candidate Dave Tully.

Tully owns a car repair business in Rochdale, and only decided to stand as a candidate in the by-election four weeks ago, just before nominations closed.

He got no coverage from the national media, who reported instead on George Galloway, on Reform's Simon Danczuk, and on the novelty candidates from Just Stop Oil and Rejoin EU.

But something must have been going on under the radar as he got nearly 7,000 votes and came second. To achieve that in only four weeks without media help, means he must have had a legion of friends on the ground campaigning door-to-door the old fashioned way.

His policy platform was hyper-local. See

source

But maybe Rochdale voters are tired of national politics and want something different and local.

The key thing he has achieved is establishing himself as an alternative to George Galloway. In the general election, which is only a few months away, instead of the anti-Galloway vote splitting here and there, it may coalesce around Mr Tully. And he may win.

There is a rebellious mood in the country because people are fed-up of the main parties. A slew of independent candidates may get elected.