British MP George Galloway, who is known for his anti-Israel views, lost his bid for re-election by a 2-1 margin. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

British MP George Galloway, friend to Hamas in Gaza, Saddam Hussein and Bashar al-Assad and other dictators, lost his bid for re-election to Parliament representing Bradford West Thursday by a 2-1 margin.

Newcomer Naz Shah, a Muslim feminist of Pakistani descent, won 19,977 votes to the incumbent Galloway’s 8,557.

During the campaign, Shah told of her roots in poverty and domestic violence, including an abandoning father, an abusive step-father, and a forced marriage as a teenager in Pakistan. Galloway thought it was a good idea to challenge Shah’s story and call her a liar.

While Galloway is notoriously anti-Israel – last August he “declared Bradford an Israel-free zone … We don’t want any Israeli goods. We don’t want any Israeli services. We don’t want any Israeli academics, coming to the university or the college.” But Thursday’s drubbing in the district with a large conservative Muslim community, seemed to turn on issues much closer to home.

While he congratulated the Labour party on winning the seat, he seemed more peeved by “others who are already celebrating: the venal, the vile, the racists and the Zionists will all be celebrating.”

Judging by social media reactions, people of all stripes seem to be rejoicing at Galloway’s humiliating loss.

Social media reactions to Galloway's loss. Photo: Screenshot.

Galloway promised we haven’t seen the last of him:

“The hyena can bounce on the lion’s grave but it can never be a lion and in any case, I’m not in my grave. As a matter of fact I’m going off now to plan the next campaign.”

That’s likely true. Galloway previously represented Bethnal Green in Parliament before losing badly in 2010. He then won the Bradford West seat in 2012.