Readers’ General Election Poll Results

In the best tradition of John Snow’s “just a bit of fun”, I am about to introduce readers to the results of the past week’s readers’ poll as to their voting intentions in the forthcoming General Election. It may not come as a huge surprise that the results here diverge somewhat from the national opinion polls, but one characteristic is shared by both: the unpopularity of the Liberal Democrats. If this blog’s readers were to determine the future composition of Westminster the Liberal Democrats would be wiped out, for in total, 0% of this blog’s readers voted for them. Likewise, nobody declared in favour of either Respect or Plaid Cymru.

Turning to the ‘don’t knows’, readers are rather more likely to know whom they wish to vote for than the electorate as a whole, with only 9% stating that they do not yet know which party they will vote for on 7 May. Next come four parties with 4% apiece: Conservatives, the English Democrats, Labour and the SNP. Securing the support of 9% of readers are the Green Party, which would become the official opposition in the House of Commons elected by Durotrigan’s readers. However, storming home with a landslide majority are UKIP, who secured the support of 61% of poll participants.

Thus, if we omit the ‘don’t knows’ for the time being, blog readers would return a Parliament looking as follows: on the government benches, led by Nigel Farage, would be 445 UKIP MPs, whilst leading the opposition would be Natalie Bennett with 69 Green MPs. The Conservatives, English Democrats, Labour and the SNP would each ‘boast’ 34 MPs. Somewhere, in a far distant galaxy, perhaps this will be the outcome. As for here, well, we’ll have to wait and see. Watch this space for election commentary.

In the meantime, please feel free to take part in the new readers’ poll ‘What will our Government look like after the 2015 General Election?’ which has now opened and will run until next Sunday evening. 

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. 

Rotherham By-election Result: good for UKIP, better for Labour

The Labour candidate Sarah champion romped home in first place in Rotherham, increasing the Labour share of the vote by 1.62% since the 2010 General Election, despite the disgrace of the former MP Denis MacShane, the Muslim grooming scandal and most recently the furore surrounding the local social services’ decision to remove three foster children from a couple simply because they were members of UKIP. UKIP nonetheless did manage to provide their best ever performance in an election for a Westminster seat, coming second and securing 21.79% of the vote, up 15.87% since 2010. It thus seems that Nigel Farage’s assertion during the count that UKIP were running “a close second” was the product of a liberal dose of wishful thinking. Still, the fostering scandal does appear to have imparted a significant boost to UKIP in the seat, but this marks their likely high watermark in Rotherham, given that the party represents the Atlanticist Thatcherite wing of the Conservative Party in exile, and Rotherham is most certainly not natural Tory territory.

The Conservatives polled a miserable fifth place, taking only 5.42% of the vote, down from 16.7% in 2010 when they were the second party in the seat. This switch of allegiance appears to underscore the recent fears voiced by a number of Conservative MPs with respect to the potential for a stronger UKIP to dent their vote in many marginal seats and thereby let Labour win, prompting calls for an ‘electoral pact’ involving the promise of an EU referendum that Nigel Farage has declined to entertain.

However, if last night’s result in Rotherham was adjudged to be a bad one for the senior partner in the Coalition Government, it was a catastrophic one for the Liberal Democrats, who were pushed into eighth place in Rotherham, taking only 2.11% of the vote, down from 16% in 2010 when they came third. This meltdown in the party’s support was paralleled in yesterday’s two other by-elections, most notably in Croydon North where they came fourth with 3.5% of the vote compared to the 14% and third place that they secured in 2010, and in Middlesbrough, where although they came third, their share slumped from 19.9% to 9.9%. Just how ‘sorry’ must Nick Clegg be feeling now? Following on from the three dire results in the crop of parliamentary by-elections earlier this month the Liberal Democrats are currently set firmly on course for electoral annihilation at the next General Election. What, if anything, could the Liberal Democrats do to reverse this precipitous decline in their fortunes?

Having noted the electoral failure of the two parties of government in Rotherham, who benefited other than UKIP? Although the BNP took third place with 8.46% of the vote, this was down from 10.4% in 2010, with this respectable placing in the table being to a considerable extent attributable to the visibility and relative popularity of local candidate Marlene Guest. She certainly fared better than fellow BNP political hopeful Peter Foreman who stood in Middlesbrough, who took only 1.9% of the vote, compared to the party’s 5.8% in 2010. The fall in the BNP’s share displayed in Middlesbrough is more typical of the results achieved by the BNP over the past couple of years, which has seen the party in headlong decline. It is not an exaggeration to state that the BNP is on a terminal trajectory, having lost most of its membership as well as the majority of its more competent organisers.

Coming in fourth place behind the BNP was Muslim convert and apparent Stockholm Syndrome sufferer Yvonne Ridley who stood for Respect and took an 8.34% share. This was the first time that the party had stood in Rotherham, and the share of the vote obtained suggests that Respect bagged the Muslim bloc vote in the borough and little else, for it is said that the original Labour candidate mooted for the by-election had been a Muslim, but following the recent Muslim paedophile grooming scandal in the borough, Labour had decided that it would be impolitic to field a Muslim. According to the UK Polling Report blog, Rotherham’s Muslim population stood at 5.4% in 2001, and it has certainly increased since then and would thus easily have been able to furnish Respect with the share of the vote that it obtained. Respect also fielded a reasonably high-profile candidate in Croydon North – Lee Jasper – a former confederate of Ken Livingstone and Director for Policing and Equalities for the GLA in 2004-2008. However, this professional race hustler managed to secure only sixth place with a 2.9% share of the vote, this poor showing most likely being a reflection of the fact that Croydon North is not natural Respect territory (i.e. it does not possess a large Muslim population that can be electorally mobilised) and allegations of cronyism have also previously been levelled against Jasper.

The turnout in Rotherham was low, a mere 33.89% compared to 59% in 2010. Likewise, the turnouts in Middlesbrough and Croydon North were poor: 26% and 26.53% respectively. So, although these by-elections each provided Labour with a secure victory, the imaginations of voters were certainly not set aflame; they do not seem to have kindled any real enthusiasm. Ed Miliband must be hoping that his party can continue to ride the wave not so much of popularity, but of disillusion with the Condem Government, until May 2015. However, it is striking that he and leading Labour light Ed Balls were cabinet members in the last Labour Government, the administration that helped to plunge us so deeply into the economic, social and constitutional mess that we currently find ourselves. Automatic tribal party loyalty evidently played the greatest role in ensuring that Labour won by a large margin in all three seats, and it is this sort of loyalty that has thus far militated against the emergence of any new electorally successful parliamentary parties in England in recent decades. If real political change is to be brought about, this species of party tribalism - particularly of the Labour variety - needs to be challenged and broken down.

UKIP will soar no higher in Rotherham, for its globalist Thatcherite economic policies preclude a wide appeal to the electorate, and this observation applies to the country at large. UKIP did also manage to take second place in Middlesbrough with 11.8% of the vote, up from 3.7% in 2010, and third place in Croydon North with its share increasing from 1.7% in 2010 to 5.7%, but what these results suggest is in line with national opinion polls that have recently seen UKIP vying for the position of third party with the Liberal Democrats. What was witnessed yesterday therefore, may lead Nigel Farage to issue a call akin to David Steel’s infamous “Go back to your constituencies and prepare for government!” but in reality, this will most likely amount to “Go back to your constituencies and prepare to take third or fourth place in a few Westminster seats in the West Country in 2015!” Yes, we do need to leave the EU, but UKIP is a single-issue exiled rump of the Conservative Party, and exiting the EU is not at the top of the average voter’s list of policy priorities. What we require is a new non-globalist party capable of breaking through in seats such as Rotherham, which whilst including departure from the EU as a policy pledge, concentrates instead on the matters of greatest concern to the electorate: the economy, health, education, transport, law and order and immigration.

UKIP's Rotherham Candidate: Jane Collins

A Rotherham Riddle: who will benefit in Thursday's By-election

Apparently, a narrative propagandised by the Labour Party and SWP and favoured by Rotherham Borough Council is that the latter’s social services were unable to tackle a Muslim paedophile gang (although they would not choose to describe it in such terms) in the town because of ‘understaffing’ and a lack of funding. However, a story taken up by the Telegraph today suggests that this ‘understaffing’ does not hinder the operations of its social services when it comes to overzealously applying politically correct strictures. In the case in question, a couple who have been foster carers for the past seven years have had three foster children removed from them following a ‘tip-off’ that they were UKIP members, with the insinuation being that they were ‘racists’. This ‘tip-off’ led to a visit from members of ‘the local safeguarding children team’ who decided upon the basis that the couple were UKIP members that they were ‘unsuitable’ to foster ethnic minority children.

This decision is quite astonishing, for it demonstrates that in Rotherham the social services have become so politicised and dominated by far-left precepts relating to race and ethnicity that decent people such as the couple in question – a former Royal Navy reservist who works with the disabled and a nursery nurse – may be demonised and denied the right to foster simply upon the grounds of their belonging to a legitimate political party. Fostering can be a tough job, and it is well known that those children who are fostered rather than left in residential care tend to benefit considerably from the experience, so the decision to remove these three children from carers who were plainly interested in their welfare and providing them with a loving environment can be viewed as nothing other than sinister. Contrary to the deformed dogma that would appear to be embedded within Rotherham’s Labour dominated Council, it is not ‘racist’ to wish to control our borders and to place limits upon immigration. Rotherham Borough Council has a lot of explaining to do in relation to this case.

The Telegraph has done all a service by running this story, but given that the Rotherham by-election will be taking place on Thursday 29 November, the timing of the article is quite interesting and suggests that perhaps the paper may be aiming to give UKIP something of an electoral boost following its decent showing in Corby. If it does well in Rotherham and the Conservative Party continues to be dominated by the Europhile Cameroon tendency, might not the Telegraph consider throwing its weight behind UKIP at some point in the future?

The by-election itself has been precipitated by the departure of former MP Denis MacShane, the latest to fall foul of the parliamentary expenses scandal. With his exit came something of a local row about who would be the next Labour candidate, with some claiming that the party decided not to run with a local Muslim because of the fear that this would go down badly with indigenous voters owing to the recent Muslim paedophile scandal. This seems to have prompted Respect to field a candidate, the well-known former journalist named Yvonne Ridley, who appears to still be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome having converted to Islam following her seizure a number of years ago in Afghanistan. As in Bradford West where George Galloway achieved his landslide earlier this year, Respect has revealed its brazen ethno-confessional bias by issuing a leaflet that includes the following text:

"Dear residents,

On Thursday the 29th November every voter and most importantly every Muslim and Asian family in Rotherham will have the opportunity to send a message to the sickening racism, Islamophobia and corruption of the Labour party here in this town."

Evidently, given the ethno-confessional composition of this seat, Respect will not win, but they could remove the Muslim bloc vote from Labour, which would in itself be noteworthy. The question that begs to be asked therefore is whether a significant protest vote will manifest itself in Rotherham following Denis MacShane’s disgrace, the Muslim paedophile cover-up and now the victimisation of a decent couple because of implied racism. If such a vote does take place, which party stands to benefit? It will not be the Conservatives, given Rotherham’s traditional deep red Labour allegiance, and it will certainly not be the Liberal Democrats. Given that the foster carers featured in the Telegraph story were themselves once longstanding Labour voters, it would not come as a surprise were UKIP to perform very strongly next Thursday. 

Joyce Thacker: embodying the spirit of the Stasi?

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. 

Bradford: Respect take five seats

Although George Galloway had initially made the claim, following his own dramatic election victory, that Respect would field candidates in every Bradford ward during the local elections, in the end they managed to field only twelve. Of these twelve, some five have been elected. It may be rather modest, but it is potentially significant. What this significance may be will be considered this evening. The most high profile victim of Respect's success, reports The Telegraph and Argus, was Labour Leader of Bradford Council - Ian Greenwood - who was ousted from his Little Horton seat by Respect candidate Alyas Karmani who enjoyed a margin of 17 votes.

Yesterday also witnessed a referendum as to whether Bradford should elect its mayor, with voters delivering a clear verdict: 'no', with 55.1% voting against the proposal and 44.9% for.

Respect's Machine Gun Etiquette

The title of this piece could just as readily have been "Muslim Machine Gunner has Bowling and Barkerend in his Sights", but naturally, I resisted the temptation to post something in such poor taste. However, it would appear that the Respect candidate for the ward of Bowling and Barkerend - Asif Khan - was quite happy up until a couple of days ago to have been pictured on his Facebook page brandishing a machine gun. What was depicted in the picture was all quite innocent of course; "charity work" in Afghanistan some ten years ago apparently. Afghan chuggers evidently use rather heavier tactics than a bit of unbidden and jaunty clipboard waving and faux bonhomie whilst you are out shopping. Now, I wonder what manner of charity Mr Khan was assisting? Afghan Heart Foundation? Afghan Water Aid? Perhaps not. Maybe a little assistance with one of the local outward bound youth camps? Should someone ask Mr Khan? Then again, this might not be such a good idea, given that he is not an overly fluent user of English, and thus might not be able to explain himself properly.

Asif Khan: Your charitable Respect Candidate

Khan's relaxed machine gun pose has been a godsend (allahsend?) to his opponents, particularly to Labour, who have been making a big song and dance (behaviours condemned by many 'devout' Afghans) about the picture which has subsequently been removed from his Facebook account. Besides this one image, there are also many others featuring Mr Khan with shotguns, for he has declared that he is rather keen on attending "shooting grounds" in Skipton. "Shooting grounds" - there's a rather chilling ring to this term isn't there? Rather like "killing fields". Still, so far as I'm aware, Mr Khan has not previously opted for a holiday in Cambodia. This particular candidate ought to get together with neo-Nazi gun nut Dave Jones who is standing for election in Todmorden, for they are well matched.

Could it be the case that Khan's opponents have missed footage of his earlier association with machine guns? Who is this turbaned individual introducing the Cramps' 'Bikini Girls with Machine Guns'? Take it away Lux!

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.