BY-ELECTIONS can be funny things. They are, in the main, inconsequential in that they do not change the government.

So they can act as protest votes as we have seen with many this Parliament.

Or they can be very local-issue specific as in Uxbridge when residents voted overwhelmingly against the London mayor’s hated ultra-low emission zone.

But I’m certain I’ve never seen one that focused on a war in the middle east.

Last Thursday’s Rochdale by-election saw the return (for the fourth time) of hard-left, pro Palestine activist George Galloway and his Workers’ Party of Britain.

Of course, he did mention local issues, many of which he will be unable to influence.

But his main campaign was to end the Israel invasion of Palestinian Gaza.

Even more confusingly, Labour selected someone as their candidate who they then decided they didn’t like because he made some antisemitic comments.

They clearly didn’t do their due diligence on their candidate but Mr Ali appeared on the ballot paper as the “Labour Party Candidate” with the party logo. He came fourth.

The Conservative candidate came third – unsurprising in such a long-held Labour seat whilst second was a local businessman.

With a significant British Muslim population, I guess it is unsurprising that a pro Palestine candidate might do well. But it is truly surprising that Labour came fourth.

Mr Galloway is a highly-controversial figure. He started life as a Labour MP, rising to prominence when he visited Saddam Hussein in Iraq and saluted his indefatigability.

Hussein, otherwise known as the Butcher of Baghdad, was later executed by his freed people after the second Gulf War.

I’m trying to work out what all this says about modern British politics.

After the death of a much-admired Labour MP (I knew Tony Lloyd and both liked and respected him), how did they pick an antisemite and then come fourth?

Why did the people of this constituency vote for a hard-left campaigner for a faraway issue (albeit on the front pages of every newspaper)?

The Prime Minister, responding to this extraordinary result and the endless pro-Palestine, occasionally extremist, marches with a call for the police to up their game.

There are also measures underway to control extremism and intimidation.

At the end of this year, Britain and the world will have had an awful lot of elections. It will be fascinating to see just how different the world will be as we bring in 2025.