Galloway returns to Parliament in sensational win in Bradford West - Labour/Coalition smashed

[frogwoman]

Try telling whoever writes the TUSC press releases



By-elections are opportunities to protest. General elections are something different. Everyone knows this,

its always just an exception/just a protest vote isn't it

the fact is george galloway, the guy who was expelled from labour and is in a different party, is an MP, you can make as many excuses as you want but the results speak for themselves

 

[JHE]

GG accepts the "i don't drink" letter was from him in this interview

http://couchtripper.com/forum2/page.php?page=6

There's also a mention in one of the Mail articles of Galloway being asked about the letter. His reply, apparently, was that he would never have mentioned anyone's religion, but for the Labour attempt to use religion to get votes.

The letter is shown on a variety of sites and partially quoted in various articles.

The oddest thing is that anyone should think Galloway would NOT put out a letter of that sort.

* His comments on the Labour campaign are, I bet, true
* His innuendo about the Muslim Labour candidate's drinking matches tittle-tattle that you can read elsewhere. Why would Galloway not use that?
* The bulk of the letter consists of stuff that he has come out with before
* For example, all the stuff hinting that he's a Muslim, but stopping short of explicitly asserting or denying it, matches what he has done before in interviews
* The focus on "I, George Galloway" is just his style
* The boasting about some Pakistani honours he was awarded (awards that may be meaningful to Pakistanis, but are unknown by most Britons) is in character
* The wretched Islamophilia and pro-Palestinian blather, the focus on his own claimed bravery etc etc is all Gallowayesque


If it had turned out that someone had faked that letter, I would have been amazed and very impressed by whoever did it. It is Galloway to a fucking T! As far as I can see, it is only on U75 that people don't believe it's Galloway's letter.

 

[nastybobby]

School boy error-Gorgeous George!

Ha! You'd have thought someone who was so 'in-tune' with an 'Islamic lifestyle' would have known that.

This is the first time that inner city Bradford has had the opportunity to vote for a candidate [that had both the financial and organisational support] who was explicitly anti 'war on terror' since it began. This by-election was almost fought on this issue alone, it made no difference that the Labour Party candidate was of Pakistani heritage, he obviously had to toe the 'party line' on this which meant he'd lost once GG made his position clear.

The only other 'issue' that GG had to concentrate on to ensure a win was the stalled regeneration projects in the city. All the major political parties are complicit in this monumental fuck-up and it was a stick to beat them with, he told Bradfordians what they wanted to hear - get the Westfield development built and renovate the Odeon cinema instead of demolishing it.

I honestly don't think this result can tell us anything more about the political climate in this country at the present time. It was all about local issues and the concerns of a section of the community regarding foreign policy.

 

[where to]

Perhaps one could infer that in traditional safe seats Labour are now potentially vulnerable on the left, at least given a well-organised left-wing populist opponent with a bit of brand recognition.

I'm wondering what would happen if a younger, lefter Glenda (as a sort of imaginary stereotype with some of the same qualities as GG) were to run for say the SP against 'Mad Frankie' Field here in Birkenhead for example.

i have long wondered how a resurrection of the Militant brand would fare. everyone knows what it means in political terms.

 

[audiotech]

I think it was the same interviewer who kept mentioning a ward where they'd found some people who'd said Galloway hadn't visited - there was unhidden insinuation of "y'know....because this is a WHITE ward...wink wink". He probably did target certain wards, just like anyone else who ever ran an election campaign, and the determined divisiveness of the BBC coverage was blatant and deeply unpleasant, no matter how much cynicism I may retain about the man himself.

Nevermind the deeply unpleasant bit, as George Galloway explicitly made clear, and he is right, doing do is deeply dangerous. That it is the BBC playing this game is doubly so, well more than that actually.

 

[where to]

If it had turned out that someone had faked that letter, I would have been amazed and very impressed by whoever did it. It is Galloway to a fucking T!

i agree wholeheartedly. i was pleased he didn't disown the letter. it silences the delusional.

 

[Bernie Gunther]

Maybe he meant the ward where the university is. There is one afterall.

I worked in Bradford for about a year and I'd guess they mean Heaton. I could very well be wrong though. Not so much where the campus is, which I'm pretty sure is City ward, as where most of the students live.

 

[treelover]

Perhaps one could infer that in traditional safe seats Labour are now potentially vulnerable on the left, at least given a well-organised left-wing populist opponent with a bit of brand recognition.

I'm wondering what would happen if a younger, lefter Glenda (as a sort of imaginary stereotype with some of the same qualities as GG) were to run for say the SP against 'Mad Frankie' Field here in Birkenhead for example.

Maybe if Owen Jones wasn't in Labour he may have done quite well...

 

[audiotech]

I worked in Bradford for about a year and I'd guess they mean Heaton. I could very well be wrong though. Not so much where the campus is as where the students live.

I'm just down the road, stuck with some tory nonentity.

 

[Pickman's model]

i'm just down the road, if the road's the a1.

 

[where to]

Its certain the media will really scrutinise all aspects of his campaign tactics, it could all go horribly wrong...

not for GG. last night was his endgame. he just sits on the cheque for 3 years now.

 

[Bernie Gunther]

Well, people have faked stuff and tried to pin it on Galloway in the past. So a reasonable amount of scepticism is understandable. I didn't see anyone making conspiracy theories about the letter. Just asking whether its provenance was confirmed by anyone trustworthy.

 

[audiotech]

i'm just down the road, if the road's the a1.

I'm referring to a ring road.

 

[frogwoman]

while a labour prime minister's wife has just bought a pvte healthcare store in fucking sainsbury's and george galloway has just cost them their seat in bradford its time to keep up the strruggle to reclaim the labour party.

what a joke.

 

[audiotech]

not for GG. last night was his endgame. he just sits on the cheque for 3 years now.

No one goes on from losing a seat held, then challenging in another and losing, then to win another, to sit on their arse, least of all George Galloway.

 

[butchersapron]

No one goes on from losing a seat held, then challenging in another and losing, then to win another, to sit on their arse, least of all George Galloway.

Eh?

 

[audiotech]

Eh?

Galloway retired gracefully from Bethnal Green and Bow. My mistake.

 

[Bernie Gunther]

while a labour prime minister's wife has just bought a pvte healthcare store in fucking sainsbury's and george galloway has just cost them their seat in bradford its time to keep up the strruggle to reclaim the labour party.

what a joke.

She says she's still a socialist though

 

[frogwoman]

She says she's still a socialist though

Really? Oh, that's all right then.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

She says she's still a socialist though

All good capitalists are, in the end. Privatise the profits and socialise the losses...

 

[Delroy Booth]

Note to media: Clayton ward in #BradfordWest is predominantly white, middle class & affluent. #Respect took approx 900 votes #Labour 40

Via Salma Yaqoob's twitter. Just now

 

[Bernie Gunther]

Note to media: Clayton ward in #BradfordWest is predominantly white, middle class & affluent. #Respect took approx 900 votes #Labour 40

Via Salma Yaqoob's twitter. Just now

Ouch ...

 

[Delroy Booth]

If it turns out Galloways won all the white, middle-class wards, whereas Manningham and the asian wards voted for Labour I'll laugh my head off at some of the presumptions people are prepared to make.

 

[Bingo]

if?

 

[binka]

harriet harman is on newsnight to explain why labour did so shit

 

[Pickman's model]

harriet harman is on newsnight to explain why labour did so shit

she'll be there all night then

 

[binka]

the labour mp for bradford south had the gall to blame it on text messaging and social media

 

[Pickman's model]

the labour mp for bradford south had the gall to blame it on text messaging and social media

no, that's riots

 

[Divisive Cotton]

That was an interesting report on Newsnight. It brought in some new facts about the election

 

[binka]

she was pleased with the 'milliband wagon'