I have to admit it. I’m a huge fan of the Respect Party’s ‘Gorgeous’ George Galloway. He’s a larger-than-life straight-talker who stands tall among so many nondescript mealy-mouthed British politicians, their lips sewn up by political correctness. So when I heard he’d beaten back his Conservative, Labour, Lib-Dem, UKIP and Green Party competitors to grab West Yorkshire’s Bradford West parliamentary seat, I scared the dog by letting out an involuntary deafening, “You go George!”
Despite suffering setbacks, he always manages to knock the self-satisfied establishment off its perch. Labour’s hierarchy was sure that the Bradford West seat—a Labour stronghold since 1974—was theirs for the taking. Their Muslim candidate, a barrister who played the faith card in an area where some 40 percent of voters are Muslims, was a certain bet—or so they thought. The bookies thought so too, initially putting Galloway’s chances at 200–1. Labour Leader Ed Miliband had a triumphal visit planned.
How wrong they all were. The Lib-Dem candidate actually lost her deposit despite the fact her party is in government while Labour is launching an investigation into what went wrong. The win had Guardian staff reeling. Helen Pidd wrote that touring the Bradford University campus with him was “like being in the retinue of a Hollywood star. Every step he took, someone called out his first name and went in for a hug or asked to have their photo taken. The Guardian’s photographer, a veteran of 25 years covering by-elections, said he had never seen anything like it.”
Objections to Iraq war
As for Galloway, who was sacked from Labour in 2005 over his forthright objections to the Iraq War, he’s crowing over his success. And why shouldn’t he when he garnered 56 percent of the votes in spite of being mauled by the media in the run-up to the by-election; a media that never fails to highlight his infamous fawning meeting with Saddam Hussain in 1994 “to try and bring an end to sanctions, suffering and war,” while feigning amnesia when it comes to Donald Rumsfeld’s handshakes with the former Iraqi dictator to whom the US peddled weapons.
The political establishment’s reaction has been one of shock, horror to Galloway’s sensational return that he’s dubbed ‘the Bradford spring.” In fact, Ed Miliband’s leadership could be at stake as party high-ups begin to wonder how Labour can snatch back power when it can’t manage to retain one of the safest seats in Britain. There’s been little gentlemanly ‘well, the best man won,’ not even the tight-lipped version. Labour’s former Home Secretary David Blunkett said, “It’s astonishing anyone could cast a vote for someone who has gone on Big Brother and got down on his hands and knees to lick milk like a cat,” adding, “Is our political system letting people down so badly they’ll vote for any buffoon?”
Galloway’s detractors are missing the point. The man’s no buffoon. The real buffoons of British politics are those who fiddled their parliamentary expenses and attempted to sell access to the prime minister for a quarter of a million pounds. On the other hand, George is believable. He connects with the hopes and fears of ordinary working people at a time when they are being penalised for ‘mistakes’ made by bankers. And if he sees a wrong, he doesn’t hesitate to point it out in the clearest language regardless of who might be upset.
He accuses former US President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair of being war criminals and maintains the July 7 London bombings were a direct result of their wars. He says the lives of British soldiers are being futilely lost in Afghanistan and has long been a passionate supporter of the Palestinian cause. His current cause celebre is to help prevent a Middle East conflagration triggered by Israeli or US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Politicians and journalists out to humiliate him invariably shrink back when faced with his sharp-witted responses and tongue-lashings; they’re nothing but ankle-nipping gnats for someone who succeeded in discombobulating a US Senate sub-committee insinuating he took bribes from Saddam. Newspapers that have libeled him have been legally obliged to fatten his bank account on several occasions.
His recent by-election rivals looked like deer caught in the headlights during a BBC pre-election debate when he tackled their respective parties’ shortcomings, told the Labour guy that he’d just committed political suicide after he refused to condemn the war in Afghanistan and chastised a female contender for behaving more like a wannabe local councillor than a parliamentarian. Their demeanour reminded me of British train commuters who bury their noses in their dailies rather than confront rowdy teens or foul-mouthed drunks.
Now the major political parties are running scared carrying out post-mortems. It’s about time they got the message. The British public is sick and tired of slick spin. Britons are fed up with propaganda and lies and overwhelmingly disillusioned with politicians. Galloway’s supporters appreciate his honesty and sincerity and until Press TV was forced off the air in the UK, they were able to discuss the world’s ills with him on his weekly call-in show.
The question now is this. Can George’s Respect Party capitalise on his win and voters’ rebellious frame of mind? Will Galloway’s success rub off onto other Respect parliamentary candidates or is Bradford West a mere fluke? I, for one, can’t wait to find out.
Linda S. Heard is a British specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at heardonthegrapevines@yahoo.co.uk.
Three cheers for the straight-talking, world class orator George Galloway! He’s been a hero of mine ever since he left “Norm” Coleman “dazed and confused like a duck that was hit on the head”. He keeps alive the spirit of the old Labor Party of Tony Benn.