George Galloway vows his Workers Party of Britain will take Angela Rayner's seat as he commits to standing candidates against Labour

George Galloway, the Workers Party of Britain MP, returned to the Commons on Monday

George Galloway has warned he wants to oust Labour's deputy leader from Parliament.

Making his Commons return, the Workers Party of Britain leader said his party could overturn Angela Rayner's majority in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency at the next election. He was sworn in as an MP on Monday, following his by-election victory in Rochdale.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament after his swearing-in, Mr Galloway talked up plans to stand Workers Party candidates in seats more widely at the next general election.

George Galloway takes his seat in the House of Commons, London, after his by-election victory in Rochdale.

He said: “There are many constituencies in London. Bethnal Green in the heart of the City of London, in Birmingham, in other parts of the West Midlands, in north-west England, in the towns around Rochdale, Oldham, Blackburn, Burnley, Nelson, Bury.

“We’ll be putting candidates up in all these places and we will either win or we’ll make sure that Keir Starmer doesn’t win.”

Mr Galloway also attacked Rishi Sunak after the PM said the MP’s victory in Rochdale was “beyond alarming”, saying it was “not for the unelected Prime Minister” to pick who represents the constituency in Parliament.

Being sworn in, Mr Galloway was accompanied by Alba Party MP Neale Hanvey and Conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley, the Father of the House, as his sponsors.

Mr Galloway said former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who sits as an Independent, was supposed to be his sponsor, but “he’d forgotten that he had a long-standing engagement”. Labour apologised to the voters of Rochdale for not fielding a candidate after Mr Galloway’s by-election triumph.