Suzanne Evans pulls out of Question Time

This is disappointing news, that caused George Galloway to issue a tweet stating 'UKIP have pulled out of tonight's Question Time. Cowards.' Hardly fair, given that Evans is ill. Galloway was therefore forced to eat his words.

Question Time: George Galloway versus Jonathan Freedland?

Tonight’s Question Time will be broadcast from Finchley, and judging from the panel it seems that it has been set up to engineer a confrontation between George Galloway and “Liberal Zionist” and Guardian journalist, Jonathan Freedland. Presumably, Tower Hamlets would have been Galloway’s preferred London location, taking into account his ethno-confessional predilections, but instead he finds himself in rather different territory where the local residents are not likely to be so . . . how can I put this? Receptive to his message?  

So, prepare yourself to sit back and watch a lot of ranting and raving about conflicts in faraway lands which really shouldn’t be any of our concern. Unfortunately, however, it turns out that they are our concern, insofar as we now have so many millions of residents from the said faraway lands that they have brought their bigotries with them and their hatreds are being played out on our soil.  

I anticipate that Nicky Morgan and Tristram Hunt will make for very dull viewing, dutifully and mechanically trotting out their respected party lines, but quite what to expect of UKIP’s Suzanne Evans, I’m not sure, but as she has taken on Tim Aker’s policy brief for the party, I will be keen to hear what she says and reveals, if anything, about UKIP’s forthcoming manifesto. Once the programme moves away from the inevitable ding-dong between Galloway and Friedman over Palestine/Israel, I am hoping that Evans will shake things up a little. Will any members of the audience or panellists pick up on Galloway’s recent Bradford speech, in which he attacked Charlie Hebdo and effectively called for a global blasphemy law to protect Islam? I hope so. If you haven’t heard his speech, or are curious to view a summary, click here.  

George Galloway curries favour with Muslim Electorate through invoking the prophet Motive

It is perhaps somewhat paradoxical that the parliamentary constituency of Bradford West is very much of the East in terms of both its outlook and demographic complexion. Its MP – George Galloway, of the peculiarly named ‘Respect’ Party – knows his electorate well, and is no shrinking violet when it comes to setting out his political stall, the wares of which habitually pertain to something going on far, far away from these shores, almost always in a land with a majority Muslim population. This is, of course, no coincidence, for the lands to which he refers possess a greater emotional resonance for the bulk of his electorate than other parts of the Bradford Metropolitan District, such as Ilkley. You won’t often hear a resident of Manningham singing ‘On Ilkla Moor Baht ‘at’, for the preferred ‘song’ that wafts through the air in the vicinity of the minaret-like mighty chimney of Manningham Mills is the somewhat less lyrical, and rather more solemnly intoned, “Allahu-akbar”! Such a welcoming sound! Then again, perhaps, not.

Galloway is a canny operator, and unlike many of his opponents, is a competent orator who fine-tunes what he says for his audience to provide an appearance of ‘authenticity’. His stance is emotive, and his speeches invested with a degree of physicality, both contrasting with the listless and dull styles of the likes of Miliband, Cameron and Clegg (Miliband’s speeches possess all of the gravitas displayed by a twelve-year old presenting to the class on what he did over the summer holidays). So much for the style, but what about the substance? Alas, little positive can be said regarding the content of Galloway’s speeches upon which his talents are wasted. The latest of these he delivered on the steps of Bradford City Hall on the evening of Sunday 18 January, to a crowd several hundred strong, which had gathered to condemn the principles of freedom speech and expression, or more specifically, Charlie Hebdo.

Gathered in the dark chill of a winter’s night, his fiery oratory revisited familiar territory to fan the glowing embers of his audience’s resentment: ‘double standards’ in which ‘free speech’ was only ‘free’ if you were not a Muslim. He used the case of the recent murders perpetrated by Islamists in Paris as an opportunity to talk of a supposed anti-Muslim ‘backlash’ in this country and elsewhere in Europe, repeatedly invoking the cliché of the Muslim as ‘powerless victim’, forever set upon by an innately ‘racist’ and ‘Islamophobic’ (sic.) society. His audience found his rhetoric emotionally sustaining; its tenor may have been predictable, but this is what his listeners yearned for. Of the images published by Charlie Hebdo he intoned:

“These are not cartoons. These are not depictions of the prophet. These are pornographic, obscene insults to the prophet, and by extension 1.7 billion human beings on this Earth.”

If Galloway deems the image below to be ‘pornographic’, all that can be said is that he must possess some pretty ‘specialist’ tastes when it comes to arousal. Admittedly, he did make a fair point when posing the question as to why the Saudis should have had a prominent representative at the front of the Paris ‘Je suis Charlie’ march, for quite obviously there is no free speech in Saudi Arabia, and certainly no leeway for anyone to produce depictions, let alone cartoons of, Muhammed.

Offering a cursory condemnation of the murder of 17 people in Paris, Galloway quickly moved on to the main theme of his speech:

“Charlie Hebdo’s entire purpose, and for years, has been to further marginalise, further alienate, and further endanger exactly those parts of the community who are already alienated, already endangered. It is a racist, Islamophobic, hypocritical rag. Je ne suis pas Charlie Hebdo! We say that the honour of religious people, their prophets, their beliefs, is not fair game for such people because there are already limits to freedom of speech.”

The crowd, predominantly Muslim, warmed to his words. George Galloway, the MP for a post-English Muslim enclave in the heart of urban Yorkshire, was forwarding himself as the defender of the Islamic faith; the champion of a new de facto blasphemy law in defence of dark age obscurantism. In his peroration, he stated: 

“So, for the sake of social peace, for the sake of unity in our society we have to demand from our Government the protection of the prophet from obscene and pornographic provocation, and in Parliament I intend to fight for that. Asalaam alaykum!”

To this, he might have added “and remember to vote for me at the forthcoming General Election, as I even went so far as to convert to Islam to win this constituency.” Perhaps it is being a little unfair to impute his conversion to tactical political cynicism, but then again, why would anyone with an ounce of intelligence who was not compelled to adopt this religion choose to embrace such a ragbag of incoherent religious twaddle? Furthermore, what sort of prophet and what sort of deity require the protection of the law? If this ‘Allah’ of theirs gets so offended by a few rather crudely drawn cartoons, he’s neither very balanced, nor omnipotent. Why should this be? Clearly because Allah only exists inside the heads of believers, for he is a work of fiction, and bad fiction at that. There really isn’t anything ‘akbar’ about him at all, and to have people demand respect for this nonsense is the greatest obscenity of all, particularly when considering that his beloved ‘prophet’ appears to have possessed anger issues on a level with those of Genghis Khan. This demand for ‘respect’ from Respect’s only MP, is offensive. 

Bradford: 2,000 in Pakistan Protest

BBC's Look North reports that this evening some 2,000 demonstrators have gathered in Bradford's Centenary Square to protest against US drone strikes in Pakistan. Speeches have been given by, amongst others, George Galloway, Muslim convert Yvonne Ridley, and a representative of CND. The Telegraph and Argus states that the organisers justified the demonstration on the grounds that British intelligence had assisted in the planning of the drone attacks; they anticipated a turnout in the region of 5,000. Imran Khan also sent a video message to the protesters.

Galloway will presumably be hoping that his appearance this evening will divert attention away from his recent comments relating to what he termed "bad sexual etiquette" and "window lickers". Amongst the general public these have done his somewhat dubious image no favours whatsoever, but will they bother many of his "devout" male constituents? The latter, at a guess, will probably be more concerned with whatever he said tonight about a country far away that has no links with native Bradfordians. At least we can be thankful that thus far this evening, they have not resorted to the violence displayed by their co-religionists in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon and Tunisia using the pretext of an American film about the life of Mohammed. I have seen some bad films in my time, but the experience has never moved me to attempt to storm embassies and murder ambassadors; a few shakes of the head and critical exclamations have sufficed.

UPDATE: The following morning, the estimated number of protesters was stated as being "hundreds" by The Telegraph and Argus rather than the 2,000 reported by the BBC. On Friday 28 September, Centenary Square will host a protest against the film 'Innocence of Muslims'.

Imran Khan addresses the Pakistani masses from his Bradford telescreen

Protesters milling around

 

No Respect from Salma: Yaqoob quits

Not so long ago, George Galloway was cresting the wave of media popularity born of his spectacular success in the Bradford West by-election, but this evening he may be a little crestfallen following the resignation of colleague Salma Yaqoob. Not only has she resigned as Leader of Respect, but she has left the party altogether. This move, it seems, has been precipitated by Galloway's recent notorious comments about "bad sexual etiquette" in connection with the rape allegations made against Julain Assange. Yaqoob issued a statement on the Respect Party website that read:

It is with deep regret that I have decided to resign from Respect. The last few weeks have been extremely difficult for everyone in the party. I feel necessary relations of trust and collaborative working have unfortunately broken down. I have no wish to prolong those difficulties, and indeed hope that they may now be drawn to a close.

I remain committed to the principles and values that led me to help found Respect. The policies we have fought for need to be voiced as loud as ever in opposition to a political establishment that remains out of touch with working people.

I would like to thank everyone in the party for their support over the years; I wish everyone the very best for the future and in those common struggles for peace, justice and equality that I am sure we will all continue to be involved in.

Other than Galloway, Yaqoob was the most publicly visible member of Respect, and quite where her resignation leaves the party is an interesting question. According to The Telegraph and Argus, Galloway himself is tomorrow due to address an all-female audience in the form of the Bradford Muslim Women's Council, which should, given recent events, lead to some interesting questioning. It would seem that Rula Lenska's pussy won't be purring by this time tomorrow evening. Another question begs to be answered: will Yaqoob join the Green Party? In terms of policy, it would seem a natural fit for her. Wherever she goes, The Guardian will obligingly swoon about her every move.

Rula Lenska's Pussy

'Go away Galloway!' Anti-Galloway Protest in Bradford

A report has reached me of an unusual protest that took place in Bradford this afternoon. An eyewitness stated that she had seen a group of Muslims bearing placards emblazoned with the slogan 'Go away Galloway!' in the city centre. The men, dressed in traditional Muslim clothing, were also handing out literature to shoppers next to the escalators entering Kirkgate Shopping Centre opposite McDonalds, and using loudspeakers to get their message across. Clearly, George Galloway is not welcomed by all Muslims in Bradford. There is speculation that the protestors disapprove of Galloway's distinctive opportunistic brand of divisive politics, and that they believe he is serving to further alienate the city's Muslim population from the rest of its inhabitants. Do you have any additional information about this protest and the motivations of the protestors? If so, please feel free to leave a comment.

UPDATE: Blogger 'Tales from Bradistan' states that he saw yesterday's protest and that it was being led by Anjem Choudary. This explanation would make sense, as Choudary has apparently been urging Muslims not to vote in elections, and given Galloway's recent victory and Respect's success in Bradford, it would make perfect 'sense' for him and his unwelcome band to descend upon the city to seek to make their point and generally stir up trouble. 

Mayoral Elections May 2012

Understandably, when it comes to the forthcoming mayoral elections the gaze of the media has thus far largely been directed towards London, the place where the concept of a directly elected mayor was put to the test for the first time in 2000. It is and will be a contest dominated by the personalities of Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone, the only men to have held the office to date. Already it has proven to be an exceptionally bad tempered race, with personal animosity boiling over into the well-publicised “fucking liar” incident in which Johnson lost his rag with Livingstone during a live radio debate. Although Johnson is a rich man, the subsequent publication of his personal earnings and tax details for the past three years, when compared to Livingstone’s, shows that he has paid his way whereas Livingstone, thanks to a little creative accounting, most certainly has not. Johnson’s fury therefore possessed some justification.

Livingstone was a trailblazer of divisive multiculturalist identity politics, helping to create an ethnically and culturally fragmented capital that whilst in our country is largely no longer of it; a city defined by geography rather than by people and community. Having nurtured the emergence of distinctive self-conscious ethnic blocs, it is to them that he now largely appeals, championing ‘minorities’ over the indigenous population. Andrew Gilligan and others have noted Livingstone’s poisonous embrace of Islamists in recent years, as well as a succession of remarks that indicate an apparent antipathy towards Jews. Having witnessed Galloway’s successful mobilisation of the Muslim bloc vote in Bradford West, it is a certainty that Livingstone will tap into this same demographic in London, appealing to the electors of Tower Hamlets and other such areas, using the Islamic Forum of Europe to help deliver the “community” votes that he requires. Galloway’s victory was to a considerable extent founded upon the willingness of Muslims to vote and the apathy of the non-Muslim indigenous population. Given that neither Johnson nor Livingstone enjoys a commanding lead in the opinion polls, Livingstone’s ability to tap into the growing Muslim bloc vote could provide him with the advantage that he requires to edge ahead of Johnson. This is the ugly political reality that characterises our capital today.

For all of the metropolitan media’s obsession with London, life and politics do exist outside of the capital, and mayoral elections also will be taking place elsewhere on 3 May, notably in Liverpool and Salford. Doncaster, which produced something of a surprise in its mayoral election of 2009 by returning the English Democrat Peter Davies (quite why a man would praise the Taliban for their “family values” is puzzling), will be holding a referendum over whether it should retain or abolish the office of elected mayor. With none of the mainstream political parties igniting voter enthusiasm, the time would seem to be ripe for other parties to make a breakthrough, so perhaps either of these elections might produce a surprise result. However, the personality and background of each of the candidates is as likely to be just as influential as any party label.

In Liverpool a mayoral debate will take place on Thursday 19 April, with the opportunity being open for all candidates to contribute. However, given their antipathy towards free speech and democracy, the self-styled “Liverpool Antifascists”  have stated that their supporters are planning to hold a demonstration outside of the debate’s venue – Mountford Hall – because they claim that “three fascist candidates” will be present, with one from each of the following parties: “the British National Party, English Democrats and National Front.” The recent demise of the BNP has resulted in groups and campaigns describing themselves as “antifascist” seeking to find new targets for their activities so as to justify their ongoing existence, and it is thus unfortunate for the English Democrats that they are but the latest to be singled out for stigmatisation by Liverpool Antifascists, Hope Not Hate and UAF.

Contemporary politics, in England in particular, has grown stale and offers prospective voters no real choice. This fact is reflected in the dismal approval ratings of the leaders of the main political parties and low voter turnout. Clearly, there is room for a new party that seeks to provide a credible and moderate nationalist programme aimed at improving the lot of our citizenry as a whole, and our people in particular. Although such a party does not yet exist, a decision has been taken to bring it into existence, and work is currently underway with respect to its organisation, structure, constitution and policy. A team is being brought into being and an announcement regarding its launch will be made within the next couple of months. The next set of local and mayoral elections therefore, should be rather more interesting than those scheduled for this May.

Bradford Respect Local Election Candidates Announced

Despite Galloway's breezy braggartry that his Respect Party would field candidates in every Bradford ward in the forthcoming May local elections, this has in fact proven to be far from the case. In total, Respect will be contesting only 12 of the city's 30 wards. Predictably, the ethno-confessional identity of its slate of candidates displays a certain bias, with 8 of the 12 being Muslim and one possibly Hindu (Karmani).

Yesterday, a rumour was reported that a Labour Party member in Manningham had defected to the Respect camp, and according to the Statement of Persons Nominated issued by Bradford Council, the Respect candidate is named as Ahmed Ishtiaq. Confusingly, an individual of that same name stood as a Conservative in Manningham in 2006, and not unnaturally in the initial draft of this piece I therefore got him mixed up with his namesake. As you can see from the comments section, the Conservative Ahmed Ishtiaq remains in the Conservative Party, and quite rightly has been rather annoyed that his name has seemingly been sullied by a false association with Respect. I therefore apologise to this latter Mr Ishtiaq who, contrary to what was thought earlier, can in no way be accused of being opportunistic. This error led to the seemingly bizarre situation of Ahmed Ishtiaq backing both the Conservative candidate Abid Majid in Bradford Moor and Respect candidate Mohammad Shabbir in Heaton. All  has of course become clear, now that we know that there are two Ahmed Ishqtiaqs involved in Bradford politics.

Another interesting fact to be gleaned from the list of candidates is the fact that the two ex-BNP councillors Paul and Lynda Cromie now sitting as Independents, have acted as the proposers and seconders of Michael Walls, the Conservative Party candidate for Queensbury. The BNP, which is fielding very few candidates nationwide owing to its implosion, is standing Eric Baxendale in the ward, so evidently there is no love lost between him and the Cromies. A local party which was born of a schism within the BNP some years ago - the Democratic Nationalists - is fielding candidates in Royds, Tong and Wyke. The BNP is now in such a poor state that Baxendale is its sole candidate.

Surprisingly, Respect has not been able to field candidates in Keighley Central or Toller, two of the wards identified in a preceding piece as being good prospects for the party. Realistically therefore, Respect only stands a chance of taking six seats. It may of course take none, although it should make a decent showing in those wards identified. Thanks to Galloway's popularity in Bradford West, the eyes of the media will certainly be eagerly peering at Bradford in early May. Will this really prove to be Galloway's "Bradford Spring", or will it turn out to be a "Bradford squib"?

The full slate of Respect candidates is as follows:

Bolton and Undercliffe - Tazeem Sawaiz
Bowling and Barkerend - Mohammed Asif Khan
Bradford Moor - Faisal Khan
City - Ruqqaya Collector
Clayton and Fairweather Green - Dawud Islam
Great Horton - Salim Jelani
Heaton - Mohammad Shabbir
Little Horton - Alyas Karmani
Manningham - Ahmed Ishtiaq
Thornton and Allerton - Patrick John Mulligan
Tong - Sarah Cartin
Wyke - James Philip Clayton

George Galloway & Bradford Respect Candidates

Bradford Green and Labour Candidates defect to Respect

With the May local elections fast approaching, Galloway’s Bradford bandwagon is still rolling. Yesterday, Bradford West Green candidate Dawud Islam announced via Twitter that he was defecting to Respect to stand under that party banner in May. He stated:

Hello everyone. I have just released the following Press release on why I am joining the Bradford Spring: http://on.fb.me/HdKgz2 #BradfordWest

His full press release is as follows: 

Hello Everyone. I have just released the following PRESS RELEASE:

Dawud Islam, the Green Party candidate in the recent Bradford West by-election, has today accepted an offer to join RESPECT and will be standing for the party in Clayton and Fairweather Green in the local elections on May 3rd. Mr Islam said that it was not a decision that he had taken lightly but one made because of the unique set of circumstances that Respect’s by-election victory had created. “This is a real opportunity for a re-alignment of progressive left wing politics in this country and I call on all of those who share similar politics to myself to climb onboard and get involved. This is not about what you may or may not think of George Galloway as an individual, that is not the issue here, although many of course love him. What it is about is creating a genuine left leaning political party that can win seats in inner cities across the country and to offer real hope to those currently disenfranchised by the current political ruling elite”.

 
He continued “I call on all ‘Real’ Labour supporters to come and join us, I also invite trade unionists, left leaning greens and those many genuine activists in the Lib Dems that follow a progressive agenda and feel let down by the direction Nick Clegg has taken their party. Let’s create a lean well organized coalition of the left that can deliver electoral success both locally and nationally and can speak up for all of Britain’s communities that are currently voiceless”

 
Dawud praised his old party at the time of making the switch: “It would be an easy decision to make to leave any other party to join RESPECT except the Greens. They are an excellent party and my local team are an excellent set of individuals. I continue to support their entire agenda and will continue my attempts to see it implemented whilst a member of RESPECT. I hope that Caroline Lucas MP and George Galloway MP can agree some sort of electoral pact between the parties in the future as I certainly view the Green Party as a progressive party of the left.
ENDS

Thanks. Dawud Islam

This will not be the first time that he has changed party affiliation, for in 1996 he left the Labour Party for the Greens owing to his sense of unease with the New Labour project. Radical changes of identity are something that Dawud Islam would seem to be comfortable with, for once upon a time he was a non-Muslim named David Edler. Quite what made Mr Edler embrace such a backward creed is currently beyond the knowledge of this blogger.

Moreover, in line with my speculations on possible Labour defections, some sources claim that the Labour candidate for Manningham has jumped ship at the last moment, and will instead be standing for Respect. If this is true, he will of course take the bulk of his ‘community’ backing with him, and in all likelihood, capitalise upon the jubilant ‘community’ support displayed for Galloway. We will not have long to wait for the veracity of this claim to be established, for all candidates will be announced tomorrow lunchtime. It will be interesting to see how many other Labour candidates might display such brazen opportunism. 

Bradford City Centre: Berlin Wall Theme Park?

Bradford May 2012: a Respect Breakthrough?

On Thursday 3 May Bradfordians will have the opportunity to go to the polls not only to vote in the local council elections, but also in a referendum as to whether the city should opt to elect its mayor. Now that George Galloway, through his dramatic victory, has demonstrated the potential of Islamic sectarian politics in certain parts of contemporary England, we may see wins for Respect in a number of Bradford wards now that he has declared that the party will field candidates in every ward. Galloway has certainly built up a head of steam for his party, and has generated much enthusiasm amongst the city’s Muslim population, even going so far as to win the backing of its mosques. Indeed, his efforts to tailor his message to this section of the electorate were quite remarkable, as is evidenced both by the letter reproduced below and the campaign speech at the end of this piece. If you possess neither the time nor the inclination to watch Galloway’s speech, you should certainly not omit to read his letter, for its content has to be seen to be believed.

Galloway has never been the shy and retiring type, yet his campaign speech took him well beyond exuberant confidence into the realms of messianic hubris, with him going so far as to invoke the divine punishment to be meted out on Judgement Day as the prospective fate of Muslim electors who chose to vote for a party of war – Labour – rather than for himself: “I believe in the Judgement Day. Not all of you do. I believe that one day we will have to answer to the Almighty for what we did and we did not do.” Galloway would seem to think that he has God, or rather Allah, on his side. He was also rather keen to imply that he, although not formally a Muslim, was a Muslim in deed, citing his teetotalism as evidence and stating that he shared a belief in the Ummah.

How then might Galloway, with his charisma and oratorical skills, support a breakthrough for other Respect candidates in May? Besides the canny honing of his pro-Muslim message, Galloway has also chosen to move the Respect headquarters from Manchester to Bradford, and in his main campaign speech made much play of the fact that he was also eyeing up the local elections “in six weeks’ time”. Connected to this was his statement that “I’ll be ashamed if I leave Bradford and there’s not a new generation of leaders stepping forward to take my place.” Quite clearly, he has plans afoot to develop “a new generation of leaders to come after me,” as was the case he claimed, in Tower Hamlets. Tower Hamlets sets an ugly precedent, and it ought to be a salutary warning to Bradfordians that Galloway intends to develop a cadre of Islamist politicians in the city.

Moving on to a rather more concrete electoral tactic that seemed to work well for Respect last week and will doubtless be employed again in the weeks ahead, Galloway asked of his audience “Every one of you has got at least fifty numbers in your phonebook. Send a text to them all and ask them to send a text to everyone in their phonebook and we reach thousands and thousands of people in Bradford.” This tactic was cheap, personal and effective. He also managed to secure the support of the innocuously named Chambers Solicitors, which not only provided him with the venue for his campaign speech gratis, but also paid for trailers displaying electoral posters. Will the same level of support be available in the weeks ahead?

Turning to the question of which wards Respect could stand a good chance of taking, two primary factors need to be considered: the ethnoconfessional composition of the electorate and Labour Party support. Where the two coincide – i.e. where the electorate is predominantly Muslim and returns Labour councillors – we can see an opening for Respect. Of the two factors however, it is the ethnoconfessional one that will play the determining role in the potential success of Respect, for it will not win votes in any significant numbers from indigenous voters of any political stripe. However, in Bradford West it was demonstrated that Muslims who had previously voted Conservative and Liberal Democrat were quite happy to switch their votes to Respect because of its overtly Islamist agenda. For these Muslim voters, faith trumped every other aspect of policy and personal identity.

Thankfully, we should not yet anticipate that Bradford Council will be transformed into an authority dominated by Respect, for it includes many outlying towns and rural areas that have not to date undergone the demographic transformation of many of the inner urban wards. Furthermore, Bradford Council is comprised of 90 councillors drawn from 30 wards, with one third of its councillors being up for re-election this coming May. Referring to the most recent set of electoral results from 2011, it is clear that there are a number of council seats that could be ripe for Respect. Each of the following wards can be characterised as ‘Asian’ (i.e. majority Muslim) and thus the only realistic targets for Respect: Bowling and Barkerend; Bradford Moor; City; Heaton; Keighley Central; Little Horton; Manningham; Toller. It is quite possible that all eight could return Respect councillors.

It is well known that Bradford West was a Labour stronghold, but some of the wards listed above are in a firm Labour stranglehold: Bradford Moor – 66.6%; City – 64%; Little Horton – 86.8% (Sher Khan – not the tiger from The Jungle Book surely?!); Manningham – 73.2%, and Toller – 80.5%. The question is: how strong are the networks of personal, clan and familial relationships within ‘local’ communities and businesses enjoyed by the men who control these wards? Furthermore, might not some of their colleagues be tempted to run under the Respect banner on this occasion, given that it has now successfully demonstrated its credentials as a viable Islamist party and is riding a wave of popular Islamic support in the city?

As illustrated in Bradford West, it was not only Labour supporters who deserted ‘their’ party for Respect, but also Muslim Conservative and Liberal Democrat voters. The same phenomenon could also characterise the local elections. Although of course non-Muslims will have voted for Muslim candidates in wards across the city – especially when only Muslim candidates were fielded – the following percentages of the vote were cast for such candidates in 2011, and provide a reasonable proxy for the Islamic character of particular wards. Thus, the bases of potential support for Respect are revealed to be much higher: Bowling and Barkerend – 74.9%; Bradford Moor – 100%; City – 91.7%; Heaton – 74.6%; Keighley Central – 85.5%; Little Horton – 86.8%; Manningham – 95.6%; Toller – 100%. Not all will transfer across to Respect of course, but these figures would seem to suggest that the party stands a very good chance of taking them, particularly if its candidates are endorsed by local mosques.

Turnout in local elections is notoriously low, which constitutes another reason for them being able to provide unexpected results for smaller parties. The average turnout across Bradford in 2011 was 40.63%, and given the lack of enthusiasm amongst voters for the traditional mainstream parties, it tends to be those who are the most motivated and passionate about their candidate who bother to turn out and vote. Thus, if last year’s turnout were to be repeated, Respect would on average need to secure the votes of only 21% of the eligible electorate in any ward to be able to take the seat. This is perfectly achievable. Galloway may have reason once again to purr with delight on 4 May. 

Alleged Fraud and Intimidation in Bradford West

A source close to one of the candidates in the Bradford West by-election has revealed that as newsworthy as yesterday’s victory for George Galloway proved to be, there is much more of interest that will shortly be forthcoming. Not only was the result itself unusual, but so was some of the behaviour that attended the campaign. For example, I have been informed that

“Labour supporters had to have a police escort out of Odsal Sports Centre last night after threats from Respect supporters.”

How strange. Why would Respect supporters threaten their Labour equivalents, and what was the nature of these threats? Were they simply a display of an overly vigorous partisan verbal aggression, or something more substantial and sinister?

Unsurprisingly, given the demographic makeup of Bradford West, there have also been serious allegations of postal vote rigging, with the claim being made that residents at some addresses had voted over 100 times. Apparently, The Daily Telegraph is conducting an investigation into these allegations so we should hear more about this in the days or weeks to come. If these allegations prove to be true, this will not be the first time that widespread abuse of the postal voting system has taken place in Bradford West, for such misconduct occurred in the constituency during the 2010 General Election.

Whilst the journalists at the BBC purport to be puzzled by the result of this election, any objective observer can see that the Islamic factor was key to determining its outcome. As such, it highlights the reality that Respect is an emergent Islamist party, irrespective of the fact that Galloway himself is not a Muslim. Galloway has thus far proven to be adept at saddling and riding the Islamist tiger, and has been willing to employ inflammatory oratory to stir up Muslim emotions as illustrated in this video of one of his speeches made in Tower Hamlets. Now that he has successfully demonstrated the appeal of Islamic demagogy, how many others might follow in his footsteps? Labour have sown the seed of identity politics, and now they are reaping the Islamist whirlwind. Galloway certainly hopes to capitalise upon his success by fielding Respect candidates in each of Bradford's wards during the May 2012 elections, but will they win seats?

As you can see from the video of his victory speech below, Galloway was rather pleased with himself. For full election results and commentary, click here.

“By the grace of God” - Galloway’s Bradford West Victory

"By the Grace of God we have won the most sensational victory in British political history" tweeted Galloway upon winning the Bradford West by-election. The bizarre five-word opening of this tweet is not so much indicative of Galloway’s belief that he is some contemporary Cromwell, but of the fact that he fought a campaign in a non-English seat, dominated by the Muslim bloc vote.

Galloway’s win was undeniably dramatic, overturning a comfortable Labour majority and bagging just under 56% of the vote (55.89%). Not only did the Labour vote collapse, but so too did that of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, as illustrated by the following shares of the vote: Labour – 24.99% (-20.36%); Conservative – 8.37% (-22.78%) and Liberal Democrat – 4.59% (-7.08%). The other smaller parties had no cause for celebration either, for the Greens won only 1.47% (-0.85%) and the Democratic Nationalists 1.05% (a marginal fall on the 2010 result). The UKIP and Loony candidates were the only others to increase their share of the vote slightly, with UKIP taking 3.31% (+1.31%).

How and why did this happen? Quite clearly, we should not expect a repeat of such a result for Respect in other constituencies that are not of this type, for Galloway actually took votes from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, whose supporters would never normally dream of voting for Respect, a party that lies firmly to the Left of Labour. Unlike other candidates, he chose to concentrate upon the issue of Afghanistan and calling for the return of our troops (a policy that I happen to agree with) but this would not resonate to such an extent elsewhere.

So, the question has to be asked: why did it resonate here? It did so for an obvious reason, but one which the BBC has not mentioned and would not wish to highlight: the Muslim bloc vote; Muslim voters possess a distinct collective identity and set of policy concerns that are at variance with those of the rest of society. Could Galloway’s victory yesterday represent the ‘maturation’ of a new Muslim confessional politics that sees Muslims willing to vote for a party that represents their specific interests rather than those of the wider society? Galloway may have stopped short of exclaiming “Allahu Akbar!” upon winning the seat, but his “By the grace of God” comment came perilously close. 

Galloway's Bradford West By-election Adventure

The by-election was precipitated by Labour MP Marsha Singh’s recent decision to step down owing to “serious illness”. The seat looks to be solid Labour, with Singh having retaken the seat with an increased majority in 2010, securing 45.6% of the vote with the Conservatives trailing a distant second with 31.1%. Although the Labour Party would have been the first to be aware of Singh’s intentions, it has yet to select its candidate from amongst a shortlist that includes individuals with no links to Bradford (but then again, that’s the case with many of its electors too these days).

Despite Ed Miliband’s awkwardness, dreadful oratory and inability to devise credible or appealing policies, the running average of polls shows that nationally the Labour Party is slightly ahead of the Conservative Party leading by 39% to 37%. Admittedly, the ConDem Government does not offer us anything palatable, so the contest looks as if it is going to be a mere rubberstamp for the Labour succession, which is the probable reason underpinning the Labour Party’s laggardly attitude towards selection.

Why then bother to even comment upon this lacklustre and dull campaign? Is there really anything of note that could possibly happen? Probably not, but then again, the declaration of one particular media pussy (this title is appropriate I am informed by people who have watched Big Brother, and as I have just discovered by watching the ludicrous video clip below) that he is to stand as a candidate has elicited a little interest in the national media: George Galloway, the fellow who fawned upon Saddam Hussein and who has courted the Islamist vote as a member of Respect since 2005. Indeed, a video showing him addressing a crowd of several thousand Muslims in Tower Hamlets in June 2010 reveals that he is quite happy to play the religion and race cards, which accounts, presumably, for the Glaswegian turning up in Bradford West to once again stand for Respect. ‘Respect’ has always struck me as an odd name for a party, particularly the one of which he is a member, for it would be more appropriate if it were to be named ‘Submit’.

Who else will be entering the electoral fray? Have any of the other candidates ever given such embarrassing televisual performances as Galloway? The junior partner in the ConDem Coalition is fielding Jeanette Sunderland who belongs to Bradford Council and at least possesses local links and roots, whereas the senior partners have chosen Jackie Whiteley from Rotherham. UKIP is forwarding Sonja McNally, a local woman and former Green Party member who has done much work for a homeless charity in the city, whereas the Greens have chosen Dawud Islam, who is as local as his name would suggest, having stood in Brent at the last General Election.

The small amount of interest that will arise from this contest will thus centre upon the performances of Galloway and McNally. Will Galloway manage to lure away a sufficient number of Labour supporters to allow the Tories to take the seat? Will his Muslim magic prove potent, or will Galloway’s mischievous genie remain firmly trapped inside its lamp? 

McNally on the other hand might pick up some votes from those who previously threw in their lot with the BNP – who polled better than UKIP in the seat in both 2005 and 2010 – and possibly the Democratic Nationalists in 2010. Neither of the latter two parties have declared any intent of standing on this occasion, but if their supporters know much about some of McNally’s other activities, they might desist from voting for her, as she  

“is a governor of Frizinghall Primary School and also of Feversham College - a voluntary aided specialist science school for Muslim girls aged 11 to 18 years.”  

Feversham College can be adjudged to be a forcing house for Islamic fanaticism, for it will not allow any male to set foot within the school grounds. Moreover, according to UKIP, “Sonja is also on a Hate Panel - an initiative that sees local residents meeting up regularly to discuss how police deal with reported cases of a hate crime.” I wonder if it bothered to look into the hate directed against white Catholic pupils at St Bede’s by their Muslim classmates and elder relatives from amongst the Muslim ‘community’ last September? It would seem unlikely. If ever proof were needed that UKIP is not a nationalist party, this must be about as compelling as it gets.

UAF Protest Against EDL Demo in Luton: the Unsavoury Truth

The inappropriately named trades-union funded body ‘Unite Against Fascism’ (UAF) is organising a national effort to counter what is being billed as the English Defence League’s (EDL) biggest yet demonstration against the Islamisation of the UK tomorrow in Luton. From as far afield as Edinburgh and Glasgow the Trotskyite-led UAF organisation is calling upon what it describes as ‘antiracists and antifascists across the country to mobilise against the English Defence League in Luton on Saturday 5 February.’ In pursuit of this objective it is organising numerous coaches for protesters, with Scottish UAF supporters leaving this evening because of the long distances involved.

Amongst the hardcore leftists who enjoy turning up for such festivals of self-created mayhem will be a number of gullible trade unionists and students who will not be aware of the modus operandi of UAF and its masters – the Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP) – a Trotskyite party that seeks to foment ‘class war’ through the patronage of a surrogate working class in the form of the predominantly immigrant-descended Muslim population which it sees as particularly ripe for violent mobilisation. Although UAF poses as a ‘peaceful’ organisation/movement, the clenched fist emblem of the SWP belies the reality of its violent intent; after all, two of the leading lights of UAF – Martin Smith and Weyman Bennett – are SWP Central Committee members.

Weyman Bennett was arrested at a UAF counterdemonstration against the EDL in Bolton on 20 March 2010. The arrest was for ‘suspicion of conspiracy to commit violent disorder.’ Of the 74 arrests that took place that day, 55 were of UAF demonstrators, thus far outweighing the number of EDL supporters detained. SWP National Secretary Martin Smith was convicted of assaulting a police officer in an anti-BNP demo at the time of Nick Griffin’s appearance on Question Time in September 2009. Both the SWP and UAF believe in a ‘no platform’ policy for those whom they deem to be beyond the pale of acceptability, amongst whom they include the EDL and BNP, both of which they brand ‘racist’, along with the recently formed British Freedom Party.

The links between the Trotskyite Left (whether the UAF, the SWP or the ‘Respect’ Party) and Islamism are clear to see. In June 2010 the One Law for All (OLFA) anti-Shariah campaign held a demonstration in Downing Street, whilst that same day former Respect MP George Galloway used rhetoric to whip up hatred amongst a mainly Muslim crowd in East London that had turned up to protest against the EDL. After Galloway had finished, a contingent of Muslim UAF headed off to Westminster where they joined with the Islamist group Muslims Against Crusades with cries of ‘Allahu-akbar!’ in a show of united rage against OLFA (click here for video footage).

Trotskyism and Islamism have come to an accommodation in the UK because each thinks it can use the other to forward its own agenda. Both believe in the transformative power of violence and detest free speech and free thought, and each is anti-nationalist in its own distinctive way. With the fortunes of the BNP on the wane, those who make a living from ‘anti-racism’ need a new target, and for them the EDL will serve as good a target as any for the time being. However, the words ‘racism’, ‘racist’, ‘bigot’, ‘fascist’ and ‘Nazi’ are all simply part of the Trotskyite toolkit deployed to unleash irrational hatred upon those stigmatised by these epithets, thereby keeping members of the movement/party in a state of perpetual and readily manipulated mobilisation. Throughout history Communists of various hues have used terms such as 'kulak', 'bourgeois', 'reactionary', 'capitalist running dog', 'wrecker', etc to stigmatise, dehumanise and destroy their opponents' reputations and lives. UAF continue in that ignoble tradition.

Since its early days the EDL has won the support of a number Sikhs and West Indians amongst others, and has also made clear the centrality of defending the rights of women and homosexuals, which is a reality that clearly rebuts the allegations of UAF about the EDL’s position. From the outset, it has declared itself to be a popular protest movement against ‘radical Islam’ and ‘Islamisation’. Islam is an ideology and there are of course considerable numbers of indigenous Muslim converts in the UK. Islam has no colour. Islam is not a ‘race’. Don’t believe in the lies peddled by UAF such as ‘The EDL, [is] a violent racist organisation with links to the British National Party and other fascist groups’. Remember: Stalin called the brave Polish patriots who rose up against the Nazi occupiers in the Warsaw Rising of 1944 ‘fascists’ and let the Nazis wipe them out before crossing the Vistula and imposing Communism. Men such as Smith and Bennett, although Trotskyites rather than Stalinists, are cast in the same mould.

George Galloway rides the Islamist Tiger

Gandalf at the Up Pompeii blog posted the following video showing a number of speakers at Sunday’s rally/march against the EDL in London’s Tower Hamlets district. Amongst them was George Galloway, former Respect MP and onetime admirer of Saddam Hussain. With a pedigree such as this, it will come as no surprise to learn that the manner in which Galloway addressed the crowd was designed to appeal to the baser instincts of his overwhelmingly Muslim audience. I shall not pre-empt his words. Listen to them yourself and ask yourself the question: were the words employed by this man and the tone in which he deployed them designed to calm the crowd or to whip up an atmosphere of hatred against the non-Muslim population of the United Kingdom?

Whether Galloway is a closet Muslim convert or simply a deluded leftist (probably both) who thinks that he can channel religious ethno-communalism to his own advantage, I do not profess to know. However, he is most certainly no friend of the English people and their ancient liberties which have been placed under such a sustained assault in recent years. Might not Galloway’s words have had a role to play in the violence later perpetrated that evening by a large gang of Muslim youths (according to the BBC up to 300 strong) as they went on to attack the police and an innocent passer-by?

Galloway and his fellow speakers implied that Muslims were above the law and untouchable, and a significant number of hotheads who had heard these speeches appear to have believed them. George Galloway has chosen to wake and ride the Islamist tiger, and owing to the inflammatory nature of the language that he employed, I hold him responsible for any violence that ensues in the East End.

'British Muslim Initiative' List of Parliamentary Candidates

The British Muslim Initiative (BMI – not to be confused with the Body Mass Index) has done us a favour by publishing a list of candidates whom you should not consider voting for under any circumstances. All are either Muslim or über-dhimmis. Other than the usual suspects such as George Galloway, Shahid Malik and Sadiq Khan, you’ll find such ‘luminaries’ as Glenda Jackson, Gerald Kaufman, Dominic Grieve and Green Party Leader Caroline Lucas (representing the most multiculturalist, anti-nationalist and pro-Islamist party of the lot excepting Respect).

Caroline Lucas and the Greens have, owing to their small share of the popular vote, avoided serious scrutiny, but it must be said that she is a dangerous authoritarian; a dhimmi dung beetle who would criminalise criticism of Islam and provide followers of this totalitarian death-cult with privileges vis-à-vis the rest of the population. She was a signatory to a letter that appeared in the Guardian on 25 March 2010 entitled ‘Islamophobia is a threat to democracy’. No Lucas, you are mistaken: Islam is a threat to democracy, you hemp-addled hippie.

Take a look at this list, and if you spot anyone that you’d ever hitherto considered voting for (unsurprisingly, I didn’t), take note and cast your ballot for another candidate, preferably one standing for the BNP. Failing that, vote UKIP or English Democrat.