Radical British politician: Who is George Galloway?

Galloway was expelled from the Labor Party in 2003 due to his anti-Iraq war stance. Scottish politician George Galloway, known for his support for Gaza, won the by-elections and became the MP for the town of Rochdale.

By William James Published on 5 Mart 2024 : 12:23.
Radical British politician: Who is George Galloway?

Controversial politician George Galloway (69), who criticized the Conservative Party and Labor Party's stance on Gaza and turned the election into a 'Gaza referendum', won the parliamentary by-election held in the Rochdale region of England.

Galloway, a left-wing politician who came to the fore with his rhetoric against Israel's occupation of Gaza during the campaign, received 12 thousand 335 votes and finished the race approximately 6 thousand votes ahead of his closest rival.

George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale since the 2024 by-election. He has been the leader of the Workers Party of Britain since he founded it in 2019. From 1987 to 2010, and from 2012 to 2015, Galloway served as MP for four constituencies, first for the Labour Party and then from 2005 for the Respect Party, which he led from 2013 until its dissolution in 2016.

Former Labor MP George Galloway won nearly 40 per cent of the vote in the by-election in Rochdale, where the Muslim population is 36 per cent. Pointing to Gaza under Israeli attack, Galloway addressed the leader of the main opposition Labor Party with the words "Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza". The vote rate of Azhar Ali, whom the Labor Party stopped supporting due to his antisemitic remarks, remained at 7 percent.

SUNAK CRITICISM

Galloway, who was expelled from the Labor Party for criticizing then-Prime Minister Tony Blair over the Iraq war, targeted the Labor Party leader in his victory speech and said, "You will pay a heavy price for the role you played in the ongoing disaster in Gaza." British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who made a statement to the press in front of the Prime Minister's Residence after Galloway declared victory, said, "It is worrying that a candidate who ignored the horror of what happened in Rochdale on October 7 won." Galloway responded to Sunak's comments by saying, "I don't respect him."

WHO IS GEORGE GALLOWAY?

Born in 1954, Galloway became a member of the Scottish Labor Party at the age of 13 and was elected leader of the party at the age of 26.

Galloway, who was first elected as an MP in 1987, served in the UK parliament intermittently for a total of 26 years until 2024.

Galloway represented different regions and parties in parliament. These parties include the Labor Party, the Respect Party, and the All for Unity Party, which he founded.

Galloway, who was elected from Rochdale in 2024, represents the British Labor Party, which he founded.

He has also undertaken the task of producing written, audio and video content for various newspapers for more than 30 years.

According to the information on his personal website, he has friendships with names such as Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, Benazir Bhutto, Yasser Arafat and Tariq Aziz.

After finishing his term as a Member of Parliament, the British politician also organized a discussion program on Press TV, the English-language channel of the Iranian state.

Galloway, who attaches importance to popular politics despite his radical ideas, also participated in the Celebrity Big Brother program, which was held in the style of "Someone is Watching Us" in England.

In 2006, when Galloway was a member of parliament from the Respect Party, he was detained at Cairo Airport, where he went to protest against the Iraq war, and spent a night in custody.

The British politician went to the USA in 2005 to defend himself against the allegations put forward by a commission of the American Senate that he was given the right to sell 20 million barrels of oil by the Saddam Hussein administration.

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