By Metin Akgerman
George Galloway. A veteran British politician. An Anti-imperialist, anti-Monarchist, anti-establishment, anti-Zionist, pro-Republican, pro-Palestinian figure. He is not the new kid in the town. He had spent many decades in the political struggle, often on the Labour Party’s side, and he is still very sharp. And this time, he is also winning.
There was a by-election in Rochdale in late February to replace the previous Rochdale’s MP, who had passed away. George’s WPB (Workers Party of Britain) won the election with a landslide victory. An independent candidate won the second row. The Conservative Party’s candidate was merely third. Labour’s place was even lower.
After winning the election. What were George’s first words? He said: “Keir Starmer, this is for Ghaza”. George is clearly and openly confronting Labour’s leader heads-on and points out his hypocrisy regarding the Ghaza massacres and regarding Israel’s policies at large. George knows very well where to hit Keir Starmer because it was a topic regarding antisemitism that the previous leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, had been suspended from the Labour Party back in 2020. The coup against Corbyn caused many valuable Labour members to leave the party one way or another, and until today, the party has not recovered from this event.
One can argue that the stance regarding Zionism is a decisive factor in who may lead the Labour Party, hence, the future prime minister. That is why this topic is at the core of the political conflict. If one removes the anti-Zionist stance of the Labour Party, what is left is very similar to the Conservative Party anyway.
After the Rochdale election, George called Jeremy Corbyn to join forces and asked him to lead this movement. Jeremy still needs to provide a clear answer so far, but George is doing what he can to strengthen this movement. Indeed, Jeremy’s contribution would undoubtedly bring many more MPs into the Parliament under WPB and weaken Starmer’s Labour.
Rishi Sunak was not happy about the Rochdale election results. He chose to point George as a threat to democracy and also as a consequence of the rising Islamist political movement in Britain. George Galloway did not hesitate to respond to him, saying that he himself had won the election personally and had the mandate to represent Rochdale in the Parliament, unlike Rishi, who was not elected but appointed, just like his predecessor. One wonders who can possibly give Rishi Sunak the idea of attacking George with arguments such as “democracy” and “mandate.”
George likes to address Rishi Sunak as “Little Rishi”, referring to his political dwarfness (maybe also referring to his height) and to Keir Starmer as “Clonkey”. According to George, the British political scene, dominated by Conservatives and Labour, can be described as “two cheeks of the same backside”, which most people find an accurate analogy.
George has been fighting for the Palestinian cause from the late 70s until today, so we can safely argue that he has been consistent throughout his career. He proudly mentioned that he walked along this way with Tony Benn, who was likely his mentor.
George did not invent the Socialist movement in Britain. Many people walked along this way. But nowadays, it seems that George is one of the leading figures, maybe the top vocal figure. How has this happened? We can mention perseverance. Many years, many wars, ups and downs. He did politics for several generations, and he is still winning elections.
George is very active in social media as well.
He is on Twitter, and he has an active channel on YouTube called “MOAT” https://www.youtube.com/@GeorgeGallowayOfficial. It’s like nothing can stop him! (MOAT: Mother of All Talk Shows). The way he talks and builds phrases and intonations is pretty unique. I may call it “discrete”. Therefore, his English can be understood by hundreds of millions of people who are not native English speakers. He uses strong words. He does not shy away from heated debates, and with his advanced writing skills, he nails every word into his opponent’s head, one by one.
It is clear that with Mr George Galloway now in the British Parliament, there will be an authentic voice in the Parliament who will defend the rights of Palestinians and the rights of the working class. He will undoubtedly work against all warmongering groups in all parties. We wish him the best of luck.