The Odd Couple of British Politics

 Well, times do change. In the picture above, we see the British political equivalent of "The Odd Couple": George Galloway (GG) and Nigel Farage (NF). Although politically poles apart, they worked smirkingly together during the EU Referendum campaign. In 2019, Galloway disgusted many left-wingers by declaring that he would be voting for the Brexit Party in the European elections. GG wrote on Twitter:

“Given the nature of Labour’s Euro-fanatic candidates list and the crucial juncture we have reached in the fight for the full implementation of the #Brexit referendum result and for one-time only I will be supporting @Nigel_Farage in next months elections."

By 2021, NF had announced that he was giving up politics and handing over leadership of the Reform UK Party, which was the new name of the Brexit Party, to Richard Tice. In his farewell address, Nigel said that he was satisfied that Brexit was here to stay, with all its benefits. However, he declared his intention to continue supporting the Reform UK Party, because: "... he wanted to campaign against "the increasing influence of the Chinese communist party over our whole way of life" and "the indoctrination of children at school", which he claimed meant many pupils were "encouraged to hate this country".

NF's mental health appears to be in a parlous state (or was it always that way?) and his subsequent career would seem to bear this out. He has one career as a financial consultant, looking very lonely in his online advertisements and another as a celebrity sender of video messages for a modest fee - £75. One such message, which was widely featured on TV, was one he sent to "Hugh Janus". Paul Merton commented that NF must have been looking in a mirror. Quite.

As for NF's partner in crime, he has continued in his efforts to be noticed. When GG stood for election in the recent Batley and Spen by-election with a party of another name (the Workers' Party), a lot of media commentators wondered at his motivation. I believe the poster above provides a simple explanation. Clearly, the GG campaign had Keir Starmer and his Labour Party leadership in its sights. GG was a keen supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and - pretty obviously - out for revenge. He sought to rally the Muslim vote by stating that Starmer is "the top supporter of Israel". He also sought to inflame tensions over sex education in schools and religious education, telling some outrageous lies, which have been exposed by Owen Jones, among others. You can learn of these falsehoods HERE (Click).

The byelection was marred by attacks on Labour Party members - some quite vicious. Tracy Brabin, the outgoing MP, said:

“The group I was with included young people and the elderly.
I witnessed them being egged, pushed and forced to the ground and kicked in the head".

 Galloway denied responsibility, but the attackers seemed to share the same agenda as him. In another unpleasant incident, Kim Leadbeater was harassed by a group of men who echoed GG's concern over sex education by shouting:

“Are you going to support Muslim parents who don’t want their children to learn about LGBT domination?” 

GG did condemn this attack, "Absolutely". he said, claiming that two of his party's senior members were gay, but he didn't say who they were. There was also the awkward fact that he had to fire one of his party workers, one Shammy Cheema, who was exposed as a Holocaust denier. GG said that:

"...he “absolutely” condemns antisemitism and Holocaust denial and “cannot be held responsible for the social media opinions of some 200 people helping his campaign”."

I doubt that Galloway would be so lenient towards political opponents whose campaign workers made similar statements on social media. It also raises the question: what attracted a Holocaust denier like Sammy Cheema to Galloway's cause in the first place?

GG was less than candid in other matters. His "friendship" with Muslims is questionable, to say the least.. If he is a friend of the Muslim Uyghurs, they need no enemies. As Ian Dunt says:

"Time and again he (Galloway) has dismissed, ignored, or actively spread disinformation about their death or mistreatment. “NO CONCENTRATION CAMPS IN CHINA,” he tweeted. “And the Muslim population is growing, there are 25,000 mosques in Xinjiang alone, more than in the entire US. FAKE NEWS PEOPLE.”

We should bear in mind that GG is on record as saying that the Tiananmen Square massacre never happened; now he tells us that the Uyghurs are not being persecuted. Nigel Farage might put this down to the increasing influence of the Chinese Communist Party (see above) - which could be why GG and NF are never seen together as a couple any more. 

Any Muslims tempted to vote for GG in future elections should bear this denial of Uyghur persecution  in mind. He has also denied chemical weapons attacks in  Syria, dismissing all contrary evidence. 

Nor is there any evidence of pro-Israeli bias in the Labour leadership. As Dunt says:

"In reality, Starmer’s Labour has maintained a much more critical approach to Israel than we saw during the New Labour years. “Reports that Israeli air strikes on Gaza have killed multiple civilians, including children, are shocking. This is appalling,” Lisa Nandy said last month, during the recent outbreak in the conflict."

Nevertheless, despite the de facto joint efforts of George Galloway, Corbyn loyalists, the Conservative Party and the extreme Right, Kim Leadbeater triumphed. Yes, only by 323 votes, but it is a tribute to her dogged campaigning and faith in her local community.

Congratulations to Kim Leadbeater!