George Galloway | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2024 | |
| Leader of the Workers Party of Britain | |
| Assumed office 8 December 2019 | |
| Deputy |
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| Preceded by | Party established |
| Leader of the Respect Party | |
| In office 10 June 2013 – 18 August 2016 | |
| Deputy | Dawud Islam |
| Preceded by | Arshad Ali |
| Succeeded by | Party dissolved |
| Member of Parliament | |
| In office 29 February 2024 – 4 July 2024[1] | |
| Preceded by | Tony Lloyd |
| Succeeded by | Paul Waugh |
| Constituency | Rochdale |
| In office 29 March 2012 – 30 March 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Marsha Singh |
| Succeeded by | Naz Shah |
| Constituency | Bradford West |
| In office 5 May 2005 – 12 April 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Oona King |
| Succeeded by | Rushanara Ali |
| Constituency | Bethnal Green and Bow |
| In office 11 June 1987 – 11 April 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Roy Jenkins |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Constituency | Glasgow Kelvin (1997–2005) Glasgow Hillhead (1987–1997) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 August 1954 Dundee, Scotland |
| Political party |
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| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouses | Elaine Fyffe
(m. 1979; div. 1999)Amineh Abu-Zayyad
(m. 2000; div. 2009)Rima Husseini
(m. 2005; div. 2010)Putri Gayatri Pertiwi
(m. 2012) |
| Children | 6 |
| Signature |  |
| Website | georgegalloway |
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George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer. He has been leader of the Workers Party of Britain since he founded it in 2019, and was a former leader of the Respect Party. Until 2003, he was a member of the Labour Party. From 1987 to 2010, from 2012 to 2015 and briefly in 2024 Galloway served as Member of Parliament (MP) for five constituencies.
Galloway was born in Dundee, Scotland. After becoming the youngest ever chair of the Scottish Labour Party in 1981, he was general secretary of the charity War on Want from 1983 until his election as MP for Glasgow Hillhead at the 1987 general election; he was re-elected three times. He was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003 due to his prominent opposition to the Iraq War. Galloway joined the Respect Party in 2004, and was its leader from 2013 to 2016. He was elected as MP for Bethnal Green and Bow at the 2005 general election. After losing in the neighbouring constituency of Poplar and Limehouse at the 2010 general election, he regained a parliamentary seat at the 2012 Bradford West by-election, only to lose it at the 2015 general election. He unsuccessfully stood as an independent candidate at the 2017 and 2019 general elections. Galloway then founded the Workers Party of Britain, and stood unsuccessfully for the party at the 2021 Batley and Spen by-election. Galloway won the 2024 Rochdale by-election. He lost the seat at the 2024 general election.[3][4]
Galloway describes himself as both a socialist and socially conservative.[5] He travelled to Iraq to meet government officials in the 1990s. He caused controversy for praising Saddam Hussein at a 1994 meeting, which he denied. Galloway founded the Mariam Appeal in 1998 to campaign against sanctions on Iraq. Galloway was accused of receiving illicit payments from Iraq's government, partly from money diverted from the United Nations' Oil-for-Food Program, defending himself at a 2005 United States Senate hearing. A staunch critic of Israel and of Zionism, he supports the Palestinians in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and was involved in the 2009 Viva Palestina aid convoys to the Gaza Strip. In 2014, Galloway sustained injuries after being attacked by a Jewish convert due to his positions on Israel. He supported Jeremy Corbyn in his leadership of the Labour Party. In 2016 he campaigned for the UK to leave the European Union, later supporting Nigel Farage's Brexit Party at the 2019 European Parliament election. He opposes Scottish independence, and founded the British unionist alliance All for Unity, which received 0.9 per cent of votes at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. More recently, Galloway has blamed the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the West.
Galloway hosted the TalkRadio show The Mother of All Talk Shows from 2006 to 2010 and from 2016 until his dismissal in 2019. He then moved the show to social media platforms. He was a presenter on Russian state media outlet RT from 2013 to 2022, and was a presenter on Iranian state media outlet Press TV.
- ^ "Dissolution of Parliament - UK Parliament". UK Parliament. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
- ^ "George Galloway tweets picture of new bride from Indonesia". 29 August 2012.
- ^ "Live results map of the UK general election". www.ft.com. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ "Rochdale - General election results 2024". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
- ^ Rees, Gwyneth (24 February 2024). "Gaza is dominating the Rochdale by-election – and letting George Galloway outfox Labour". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
Whereas I'm very clear. As a father of six children, I'm socially conservative. I don't want my children taught the kind of things Labour wants to teach them in schools.