Lib Dems lift suspension of council candidate after George Galloway video

A party suspension imposed on a Liberal Democrat local election candidate in Rochdale after she was endorsed by the town's MP George Galloway has been lifted.

The Lib Dems said Rabina Asghar, a translator for the NHS, has been 'cleared of any wrongdoing from the party' and has received a warning.

Ms Asghar, the Lib Dem candidate for the Spotland and Falinge ward, was suspended by the party on Saturday, April 20, after appearing in a video from the Workers Party. Mr Galloway, who became MP for Rochdale in the February by-election after the death of Tony Lloyd, spoke in the video to encourage voters to back her 'to get Labour out of the town hall'.

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Rochdale Lib Dem leader, councillor Andy Kelly, said later she was regretful and had made a gross error of judgement. He said Ms Asghar should have said no to appearing in the video and had been 'politically naive'.

A subsequent complaint lodged with the party's standards office by Ms Asghar against her suspension was reviewed by a panel. After reviewing submissions, the panel said its decision was to 'dismiss the complaint with a warning'.

Commenting, Ms Asghar said: "I am pleased that the Liberal Democrats have cleared me of any wrongdoing. I have had literally hundreds of messages from residents offering support in this case and thank the party for dealing with this issue swiftly."

Coun Kelly, the local Lib Dem leader, has previously denied being in an alliance with the Workers Party to oppose Labour in Rochdale at Thursday's local elections. The Lib Dems, together with the Middleton Independents and one of George Galloway’s by-election rivals, David Tully, all declared