George Galloway's Rochdale by-election win shows voters are unhappy with self-obsessed political elites – Kenny MacAskill

Politics is not about politicians but what they can do for the people they serve

George Galloway’s Rochdale victory should be a wake-up call for the political elites. Not the rant against democracy voiced by the Prime Minister, happy to tolerate racism and Islamophobia in his own party yet branding peaceful demonstrators and a fed-up electorate as extremists.

I disagree with Galloway on many issues, not least independence, but his victory was more than just a vote to stop the horror in Gaza. It was also a vote by a disaffected electorate against mainstream parties ignoring the plight of so many. Folk are fed up with politicians who appear in it for themselves, not the benefit of others.

It put me in mind of a book I'd read about Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential campaign in 2016. The book Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton's Doomed Campaign relates the political stitch-up that she and the Democratic party elite conducted. The campaign was highly centralised and nearly came unstuck when Bernie Sanders ran on gut instincts and issues that resonated with the electorate, rocking her policy-wonk-driven campaign.

George Galloway's by-election victory in Rochdale was about more than the situation in Gaza (Picture: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)

Even on election day, they believed they’d beaten Trump. For sure, she did win the popular vote but lost in key seats and in the electoral college that decides the presidency. The real problem was it was all about her rather than what she was standing for. “I” and “me”, not “us” and “we”. Everyone knew she wanted to be the first female president but not why or what she would do if elected. The sense of entitlement turned many usually Democrat voters off and they abstained or voted for Trump.

Get our weekly opinion newsletter for expert analysis from The Scotsman’s team of columnists

That’s what we’re seeing in this country. Career politicians abounding and looking to gain office but unable to detail what they’re for or are intent on doing. Labour’s electoral call is that it’s their time now, even if Tory policies won’t change. Plus ca change but it’s all about them not us. Many will either not vote or, as in Rochdale, consider some alternative.

Ferguson Marine needs orders

It’s the same in Scotland. Humza Yousaf wanted to be the first ethnic minority First Minister but for what purpose? That was echoed by his Cabinet minister Mairi McAllan when announcing her pregnancy. Now parenthood’s a blessing and good luck to her and her husband.

But her comments were about how this would show that starting a family was not a barrier to women holding high political office. This as her statement on the Grangemouth refinery lauded the opportunity for biofuels at the site in 2045. But it may cease refining in 2025. What is the workforce to do for 20 years? Knit bonnets for her bairn?

Similarly on her watch, Ferguson Marine, the last shipyard on the Lower Clyde, stands threatened and what’s needed is confirmation that the orders for the CalMac small isles ferries will be given to them. On that she’s been silent.

So, we know about her wants for herself but what’s she for as regards the rest of us, never mind the economy? A female president, an ethnic minority FM and women in high office are all worthy and overdue. But politics is about ideas and values for the many, not right and entitlement for a political elite. It’s about us, not them, and it should be about what they’re for, not their career.

Kenny MacAskill is Alba MP for East Lothian