Keir Starmer and the Labour Party

[birchesgreen]

Galloway only represents one thing in parliament, George Galloway.

 

[DarloRich]

As if he's going to be doing anything other than advancing his own personal interests! He certainly isn't going to be spending any time representing Rochdale

That is grossly unfair!

he has said he will sort out the maternity hospital, attract a Primark, save the football club AND clean the town hall clock oh and save Palestine

 

[Busaholic]

The poor turnout is due to the people of Rochdale not voting. Like him or loath him, that is not the fault of George Galloway.

When he eventually allowed himself to be interviewed by the BBC man on television Galloway was allowed to get away with saying that he'd won the majority of the votes, whereas it was 40%, so nearer a third than half. Mind you, in his mood last night he was probably including the second place Independent's 21% as his as he'd decided to heap some praise on him alone of the other candidates. The most interesting moment of the interview though, to my mind, was when he was asked what he could achieve in Parliament as 'one person in 650.' Galloway then produced one of his penetrating stares, less effective these days in his thick glasses, and asked the reporter four times ''do you really think I'm one in 650?'' which the BBC man handled rather well I felt and didn't either attempt to answer or, alternatively. bluster. This was while his presumed most recent wife was standing close to him gazing at him with a smile playing on her lips and a look of adoration on her face. What a cult, though I might have misspelt that.

 

[D6130]

What a cult, though I might have misspelt that.

Like!

 

[dangie]

…..Galloway is irrelevant, Labour will re-take Rochdale easily.…

Not necessarily. Whenever it is, it’ll only be a few months before the next General Election.

Within that short time Galloway needs only to convince/fool/con the people of Rochdale that he has their interests at heart. If he succeeds they may vote for him again. After that he can let out his true colours.

This is of course depends on whether he’s just making a point, and doesn’t stand at the next General Election.

 

[renegademaster]

''do you really think I'm one in 650?'

Sounds like a hint at Corbyn et al

 

[nr758123]

What a cult, though I might have misspelt that.

"A lump of weapons-grade narcissium". Originally said about one B Johnson, but if the fedora fits..............

 

[Thirteen]

Not necessarily. Whenever it is, it’ll only be a few months before the next General Election.

Within that short time Galloway needs only to convince/fool/con the people of Rochdale that he has their interests at heart. If he succeeds they may vote for him again. After that he can let out his true colours.

This is of course depends on whether he’s just making a point, and doesn’t stand at the next General Election.

He didn't stand again in the 2010 election and lost his seat in 2015 so I think his chance of losing his seat in the next couple of months is pretty good.

 

[Acfb]

I dislike what Netanyahu is doing in Gaza intensely. However I detest Galloway with a passion. partly because of his apparent blanket "problem" with Israelis. I suspect I am far from the only person with this combination of views, and many of us who want to see an end to the war and feel sympathy for Palestinian suffering will not feel even a microgram of sympathy towards Galloway.

Problem with Galloway is really more his reactionary turn on Brexit/immigration/LGBT issues in recent years more than his Israel/Palestine position per se. He was also beaten up by a pro Israel fanatic about 10 years ago so I can understand the bitterness there. There is hypocrisy there given that hardly any MPs condemned the violence in that instance but are complaining/ crying wolf about protests now.


Anyway he will probably lose Rochdale back to Labour by about 30% in the GE even if his outfit gets a few council seats in Rochdale.

 

[Thirteen]

Problem with Galloway is really more his reactionary turn on Brexit/immigration/LGBT issues in recent years more than his Israel/Palestine position per se. He was also beaten up by a pro Israel fanatic about 10 years ago so I can understand the bitterness there. There is hypocrisy there given that hardly any MPs condemned the violence in that instance but are complaining/ crying wolf about protests now.

Considering his history of controversy, it's surprising he hasn't been banned from standing as an MP.

I wouldn't be surprised if he does lose his seat in the election, I think a lot of people will probably vote for either Labour's new candidate or the independent candidate David Tully who came second.

 

[AlterEgo]

Considering his history of controversy, it's surprising he hasn't been banned from standing as an MP.

There is no reason in law Galloway cannot stand. Suggesting an elected representative should have been banned from standing for "reasons" is as reactionary a thing as it's possible to say in a Western democracy.

 

[Thirteen]

Having seen Politics Joe's videos of Galloway's win on YouTube reminded me why I don't like them as a publication

 

[317 forever]

When Galloway stood (and failed to win) in Batley & Spen a few years back in the by-election prompted by Tracy Brabin becoming West Yorkshire Mayor, he showed himself to be all about, well, himself. He and his crew left their posters and banners up all over the constituency for ages, leaving the place looking even more untidy than usual. Given that his ego has been boosted by this win, I expect that his mug will be plastered all over Rochdale too. That there's only a matter of months to the General Election is some small mercy at least.

Having Kim Leadbeater as the (winning) Labour candidate was the best thing they could have done.

Even allowing for George Galloway missing out here, he is a rare example of an MP to be elected in 4 different areas of Britain (Glasgow, London, Bradford and now Rochdale).

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Considering his history of controversy, it's surprising he hasn't been banned from standing as an MP.

So you better add a fair few of the Torys as well then.

He stood fair and square as a candidate against all the mainstream parties and won thats democracy in action. Sunak trying to call him out is what is dangerous and Trumpian.

 

[Busaholic]

Having Kim Leadbeater as the (winning) Labour candidate was the best thing they could have done.

Even allowing for George Galloway missing out here, he is a rare example of an MP to be elected in 4 different areas of Britain (Glasgow, London, Bradford and now Rochdale).

Wearing four different coats as it were, or perhaps I should say hats. Equals his number of marriages too!

So you better add a fair few of the Torys as well then.

He stood fair and square as a candidate against all the mainstream parties and won thats democracy in action. Sunak trying to call him out is what is dangerous and Trumpian.

It was certainly over the top, and I do wonder who put him up to it. After all, despite all Galloway's bluster he achieved 40% of the votes cast by those 40% of the electorate who cast their votes = 16% of eligible Rochdale voters put a cross against his name. That figure of 40% turn-out has been replicated in the Iranian general election, so Galloway's soulmates and fellow freedom lovers in charge over there are about as popular.

 

[brad465]

Yep, only been back in Parliament a day and he's already revealing he's just using Rochdale for his own gain, and will do in Ashton-under-Lyme if he tried to get elected there too:

George Galloway vows his party will take Angela Rayner's seat

The Workers Party of Britain leader pledges his party will boot out Labour MPs in the general election.

www.bbc.co.uk

George Galloway has said he wants to oust Labour's deputy leader from Parliament, as he began work as an MP.
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, following his by-election win last week.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, he listed more areas with large Muslim populations and vowed to "win or make sure that Keir Starmer doesn't win".
He named the Labour deputy leader's seat as a target, saying: "There's at least 15,000 supporters of my point of view in her constituency."
Mr Galloway was expelled from the Labour party in 2003 over his views on the Iraq war and said his Rochdale win was "for Gaza".

• This is for Gaza, says Galloway on by-election win
• George Galloway: Latest win for political maverick

Following his swearing-in ceremony, the 69-year-old listed a number of local priorities, before telling reporters his first words in Parliament would be about Gaza, and added he hoped he'd get a chance to speak at this week's PMQs.
When asked by the BBC if Hamas, which is proscribed as a terrorist group by the UK, US, Israel and several other countries, should be allowed to run Gaza, he responded the question was "dripping with imperial condescension" and queried whether the UK or the BBC should run Gaza instead.
"I would not myself have voted for Hamas - I am an Arafat man and have been since the 1970s - but the people picked Hamas," he said, adding that "no good can come" from foreign countries meddling in others' affairs.
He later responded to questions about Israel, saying "Israel exists, it's not up to me" but that "no state has the right to exist - not the Soviet Union, not Czechoslovakia, not the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland" and that he supported the Oslo Agreement but was "still waiting for a Palestinian state".
During his initial speech, Mr Galloway went on to invoke the Holocaust, saying: "There's a genocide going on....If the by-election had been in February of 1940 or 41, would anyone seriously have condemned me for putting the crimes of the Holocaust at the centre of my election campaign?"
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism lists "drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis" among its examples.
The IHRA definition is intended to show how certain ways of speaking target Jewish people, and includes attacks on the state of Israel, over and above criticism that would be levelled at any other country.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Yep, only been back in Parliament a day and he's already revealing he's just using Rochdale for his own gain, and will do in Ashton-under-Lyme if he tried to get elected there too:

George Galloway vows his party will take Angela Rayner's seat

The Workers Party of Britain leader pledges his party will boot out Labour MPs in the general election.

www.bbc.co.uk

Hes consistent which is lot more than you can say about many other MPs

 

[nw1]

Yep, only been back in Parliament a day and he's already revealing he's just using Rochdale for his own gain, and will do in Ashton-under-Lyme if he tried to get elected there too:

George Galloway vows his party will take Angela Rayner's seat

The Workers Party of Britain leader pledges his party will boot out Labour MPs in the general election.

www.bbc.co.uk

Doesn't that idiot Galloway realise that by targeting Labour seats he could make the Tories do better than expected?

But it just confirms my opinion that Galloway is actually very right-wing on social matters, and not left-wing at all. He endorsed Farage in the 2019 elections, and his pro-Brexit socially-conservative stance has some similarities to that of the current version of the Tories. Social conservatism and authoritarianism are common to both. As I said above, Sunak and Galloway have a lot more in common than either would like to admit.

He wittered this during the 2021 Batley and Spen campaign (https://www.newstatesman.com/commen...aceful-record-shows-he-no-friend-progressives):

Galloway’s electoral strategy is characteristically opportunistic. Rhetoric around “Zionism” sits incongruently alongside invective aimed at winning over socially conservative working-class voters. The latter, Galloway recently tweeted, are fed up of “anti-Brexit woke liberal identity-politics [and] cancel-culture mania”.

From the same New Statesman article:

Yet despite his long-standing public image as a firebrand left-winger, Galloway has never been “woke”. He voted for Brexit in 2016 and embraced Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon a few years later. Galloway holds what are euphemistically called “old-fashioned views”. He opposes abortion...

Left-wing? You've got to be kidding.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Doesn't that idiot Galloway realise that by targeting Labour seats he could make the Tories do better than expected?

But it just confirms my opinion that Galloway is actually rather right-wing, and not left-wing at all. He endorsed Farage in the 2019 elections, and his pro-Brexit socially-conservative stance has some similarities to that of the current version of the Tories.

I realise "traitor" is a strong word, but IMV Galloway is actually precisely that.

Of course they chucked him out nothing like being spawned to want revenge

 

[birchesgreen]

Doesn't that idiot Galloway realise that by targeting Labour seats he could make the Tories do better than expected?

Only thing Galloway cares about is Galloway.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Only thing Galloway cares about is Galloway.

Oh like plenty of other MPs

 

[Busaholic]

Doesn't that idiot Galloway realise that by targeting Labour seats he could make the Tories do better than expected?

Yes, that's precisely what he intends, and probably would admit it too! His mission is to destroy the Labour Party, plus Israel of course.

But it just confirms my opinion that Galloway is actually very right-wing on social matters, and not left-wing at all. He endorsed Farage in the 2019 elections, and his pro-Brexit socially-conservative stance has some similarities to that of the current version of the Tories. Social conservatism and authoritarianism are common to both. As I said above, Sunak and Galloway have a lot more in common than either would like to admit.

Of course, much like the mainstream views of many Muslims who are regular Mosque-goers. It's also notable that in Galloway's swearing-in today in the Commons he was accompanied by an MP of Alex Salmond's Alba party. Galloway is very anti Scottish nationalism but, like Salmond, was quite comfortable to host shows on the Russia Today TV channel, both having expressed enthusiasm for Putin. Salmond as First Minister pulled so many strings for Donald Trump in Scotland too, so is perhaps a fanboy for actual and potential dictators. Galloway's opinion of Trump is unknown, to me anyway, but I suspect he'd sooner vote for him than Biden.

That‘ll be Blair, the only Labour leader to win a General Election in the last 45 years.

And your point is?

 

[Thirteen]

Is Galloway going to abandon Rochdale in favour of standing in Ashton or get someone to stand because Angela Rayner is very unlikely to lose her seat either way.

 

[jfollows]

Is Galloway going to abandon Rochdale in favour of standing in Ashton or get someone to stand because Angela Rayner is very unlikely to lose her seat either way.

It'll come down to posturing and publicity, because Galloway isn't going to win either Rochdale or Ashton in a general election, and he knows it. I don't think he would understand the concept of "abandoning" Rochdale when it's only been the vehicle supporting his ego, I don't think he'd give it another thought.

 

[edwin_m]

Is Galloway going to abandon Rochdale in favour of standing in Ashton or get someone to stand because Angela Rayner is very unlikely to lose her seat either way.

The news stories mentioned it would be someone else in his party standing in Ashton. But Galloway may be unique in his ability to exploit this type of "opportunity". I agree, can't see Rayner being dislodged.

 

[DarloRich]

And your point is?

the rather obvious point being: why would a serious politician not take advice from people with a track record of, you know, actually winning elections!

Easier just to speak to Corbyn clowns and deliver comfortable, constant, opposition but ideological purity!

 

[nw1]

Is Galloway going to abandon Rochdale in favour of standing in Ashton or get someone to stand because Angela Rayner is very unlikely to lose her seat either way.

Why pick on Rayner anyway? She comes from the local area and from humble beginnings, if the "Workers' Party" really represented the working-class left one might think it would rate her favourably.

But no. She's nor right-wing or illiberal enough for the "Workers' Party", I suspect. Doubtless they see her as a sell-out to liberalism, or something.

Yes, that's precisely what he intends, and probably would admit it too! His mission is to destroy the Labour Party, plus Israel of course.

Of course, much like the mainstream views of many Muslims who are regular Mosque-goers. It's also notable that in Galloway's swearing-in today in the Commons he was accompanied by an MP of Alex Salmond's Alba party. Galloway is very anti Scottish nationalism but, like Salmond, was quite comfortable to host shows on the Russia Today TV channel, both having expressed enthusiasm for Putin. Salmond as First Minister pulled so many strings for Donald Trump in Scotland too, so is perhaps a fanboy for actual and potential dictators. Galloway's opinion of Trump is unknown, to me anyway, but I suspect he'd sooner vote for him than Biden.

Well, he used Trump's main strapline in wanting to "MAKE ROCHDALE GREAT AGAIN" (TM) which suggests he probably isn't openly hostile.

 

[jon0844]

I wouldn't necessarily vote for Reform, although it is of course the obvious choice for a disillusioned conservative.

No it isn't IMO. I voted Conservative for many years, but don't recognise this party which needs a reset and a move back towards the centre to be electable again.

Lurching further to the right will see them out of power for decades. There is no silent majority, no secret Conservatives. There are far right lunatics and racists that would vote Reform, and they're not traditional Conservative voters. They're people who would always vote for some fringe nationalist populist nonsense.

 

[birchesgreen]

Lurching further to the right will see them out of power for decades. There is no silent majority, no secret Conservatives. There are far right lunatics and racists that would vote Reform, and they're not traditional Conservative voters. They're people who would always vote for some fringe nationalist populist nonsense.

Both my mum and uncle are going to vote for Reform, they arn't raving far right lunatics or racists thank you. They are life-long Tory voters who are disillusioned with a party who they feel never do what they promise.

Though both live in rock solid Labour seats anyway so it won't change a lot!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

The "far right" (those quote marks really aren't big enough) are an irrelevance in the UK and have been since the 1970s, the only think keeping them in the public consciousness is the near-constant scaremongering about them. Even at their height the BNP were a joke party that nobody in their right mind took seriously, they had a few councillors dotted around the country who were proven to be feckless and ineffective at their jobs. Remember when their leader was on Question Time? He put in such a poor showing that the already tiny support for the party plummeted overnight, yet there were some campaigning for him to be axed from the show for fear that his very presence on the BBC would have everyone to the right of Michael Foot goose-stepping within minutes.
The mainstream left really does have rather low expectations of the average man in the street... the best cure for people like Griffin isn't to ban them, it's to expose them to daylight.