So what do you think of Respect?

[Aurora]

The Respect Party was set up in January 2004. It was formed because of the need for a left-wing alternative to the three established parties - New Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats.

None of those parties represent the interests of ordinary working-class people or those who want a fairer, more equal and just society.

When millions marched against the invasion of Iraq, the government ignored us.

When workers and communities take strike action or protest against privatisation, job losses and cuts to our services, they are criticised by the New Labour government and the other parties.

The Respect Party is opposed to war, privatisation and unemployment.

The Respect Party stands for peace, publicly owned services and a decent future for all.

We want a world in which the democratic demands of the people are carried out; a world based on need not profit; a world where solidarity rather than self-interest is the spirit of the age.

We want to reach out to all those who share our views, to build a new party for change in the interests of ordinary people.

http://www.respectparty.org/2010/12/abo ... party.html

Sounds fair enough to me.

(Runs for cover)

[snow hope]

Well George Galloway is no doubt the spearhead of the party if not the leader.

From what I have seen he is far more prepared to tell the truth about matters than just about all the other politicans.

Galloway is very colourful and has had minor sex scandals and silly Big Brother appearances, but to be honest I don't let those affect my opinion that he seems to be more honest than most of he peers.

I don't particularly support him but it is refreshing not to be lied to.

(Ducks for cover)

[biffvernon]

Respect, bro, respect.

[Aurora]

Interesting article by Tariq Ali in The Guardian.

The Guardian - 30/03/12

George Galloway's Respect could help Britain to break the political impasse

UK politics has been governed by Thatcherism for decades. Galloway's triumph should force people to rethink their passivity.

Article continues ...

[Little John]

The Respect Party was set up in January 2004. It was formed because of the need for a left-wing alternative to the three established parties - New Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats.

None of those parties represent the interests of ordinary working-class people or those who want a fairer, more equal and just society.

When millions marched against the invasion of Iraq, the government ignored us.

When workers and communities take strike action or protest against privatisation, job losses and cuts to our services, they are criticised by the New Labour government and the other parties.

The Respect Party is opposed to war, privatisation and unemployment.

The Respect Party stands for peace, publicly owned services and a decent future for all.

We want a world in which the democratic demands of the people are carried out; a world based on need not profit; a world where solidarity rather than self-interest is the spirit of the age.

We want to reach out to all those who share our views, to build a new party for change in the interests of ordinary people.

http://www.respectparty.org/2010/12/abo ... party.html

Sounds fair enough to me.

(Runs for cover)

Galloway has a big ego. Consequently,. Galloway has proved himself to be perfectly capable of making a tit of himself (e.g. "Big Brother").

My feeling is "so what?"

Irrespective of all of the above, Galloway has demonstrated 3 things to me on a number of occasions.

1) He is fearless in the face of the establishment

2) He has has consistently told the truth as he sees it in a political world of lies

3) On the illegals wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has been proven to be right (as if we didn't all know the truth anyway, but, he as the only public figure to tell it as it is).

edit to add:

Finally, his appearance before the US senate committee when they tried to stitch him up with false allegations about his relationship with Iraqi oil sealed it for me. They had intended to bury him and, instead, he made mincemeat of them. Any man who has the balls to do that deserves respect.

[UndercoverElephant]

The next UK election is going to be even more interesting than the last one, I think. I don't think the tories will be able to get an overall majority, the libdem vote is almost certainly going to collapse and labour are directionless and seem to have forgotten what they stand for.

It's just possible that we are going to see a significant number of surprise victories by different minor parties in different places. The SNP will do very well again in Scotland, and I think we could see Green MPs returned in anything up to ten English constituencies. If Respect get their act together they could win seats in areas the Greens can't.

Labour are naturally placed to win, but Ed Milliband just hasn't got what it takes to be a Prime Minister, and almost everybody knows this. And even if he goes, there's not exactly a vast amount of talent in the shadow cabinet poised to take over.

[UndercoverElephant]

The Respect Party was set up in January 2004. It was formed because of the need for a left-wing alternative to the three established parties - New Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats.

None of those parties represent the interests of ordinary working-class people or those who want a fairer, more equal and just society.

When millions marched against the invasion of Iraq, the government ignored us.

When workers and communities take strike action or protest against privatisation, job losses and cuts to our services, they are criticised by the New Labour government and the other parties.

The Respect Party is opposed to war, privatisation and unemployment.

The Respect Party stands for peace, publicly owned services and a decent future for all.

We want a world in which the democratic demands of the people are carried out; a world based on need not profit; a world where solidarity rather than self-interest is the spirit of the age.

We want to reach out to all those who share our views, to build a new party for change in the interests of ordinary people.

http://www.respectparty.org/2010/12/abo ... party.html

Sounds fair enough to me.

(Runs for cover)

Galloway has a big ego. Consequently,. Galloway has proved himself to be perfectly capable of making a tit of himself (e.g. "Big Brother").

My feeling is "so what?"

Irrespective of all of the above, Galloway has demonstrated 3 things to me on a number of occasions.

1) He is fearless in the face of the establishment

2) He has has consistently told the truth as he sees it in a political world of lies

3) On the illegals wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has been proven to be right (as if we didn't all know the truth anyway, but, he as the only public figure to tell it as it is).

edit to add:

Finally, his appearance before the US senate committee when they tried to stitch him up with false allegations about his relationship with Iraqi oil sealed it for me. They had intended to bury him and, instead, he made mincemeat of them. Any man who has the balls to do that deserves respect.

I agree with all of this.

[Aurora]

The next UK election is going to be even more interesting than the last one, I think. I don't think the tories will be able to get an overall majority, the libdem vote is almost certainly going to collapse and labour are directionless and seem to have forgotten what they stand for.

It's just possible that we are going to see a significant number of surprise victories by different minor parties in different places. The SNP will do very well again in Scotland, and I think we could see Green MPs returned in anything up to ten English constituencies. If Respect get their act together they could win seats in areas the Greens can't.

Labour are naturally placed to win, but Ed Milliband just hasn't got what it takes to be a Prime Minister, and almost everybody knows this. And even if he goes, there's not exactly a vast amount of talent in the shadow cabinet poised to take over.

Let's hope we don't see too many right wing nutters come creeping out of the shadows.

[clv101]

The next UK election is going to be even more interesting than the last one, I think.

It's going to unlike any other election. Most of the constituencies are changing, a lot of them by a large amount. Wales is losing something like a quarter of it's MPs! The bias should swing away from Labour. Predicting it is going to very hard indeed.

[Aurora]

George Galloway - The Guardian - 30/03/12

Bradford's peaceful democratic uprising that elected me comes from the wellspring of discontent that swept Britain last summer.

Article continues ...

[Ludwig]

I have reservations about Galloway's judgment, stability and integrity. Does no one remember the crawling speech he made to Saddam Hussein?

I know all politicians have to sup with the Devil sometimes, but I can't escape the suspicion that Galloway's main cause is his own ego. The clips I saw of him on Celebrity Big Brother suggested a man with great self-belief and zero self-awareness.

I suppose you can say of him that he's no worse than most of the others.

[UndercoverElephant]

I have reservations about Galloway's judgment, stability and integrity. Does no one remember the crawling speech he made to Saddam Hussein?

That was a two-finger salute to the political establishment.

I know all politicians have to sup with the Devil sometimes, but I can't escape the suspicion that Galloway's main cause is his own ego. The clips I saw of him on Celebrity Big Brother suggested a man with great self-belief and zero self-awareness.

If he's making people think harder, or making people I can't stand very angry, I like it. Yes, he has an enormous ego. But if he didn't have an enormous ego he would be far less effective as a spanner in the works of The System.

[Ludwig]

I have reservations about Galloway's judgment, stability and integrity. Does no one remember the crawling speech he made to Saddam Hussein?

That was a two-finger salute to the political establishment.

Was it? Sounded to me like a crawling speech to a murderous dictator. I applaud his opposition to the war, but did he have to stoop quite so low?

[UndercoverElephant]

I have reservations about Galloway's judgment, stability and integrity. Does no one remember the crawling speech he made to Saddam Hussein?

That was a two-finger salute to the political establishment.

Was it? Sounded to me like a crawling speech to a murderous dictator. I applaud his opposition to the war, but did he have to stoop quite so low?

No. But in the grand scheme of things, I think his contribution is a positive one. If I had the power to choose whether to edit Galloway out of history or leave him in, I'd have no trouble deciding to leave him in. Would you?

[UndercoverElephant]

The next UK election is going to be even more interesting than the last one, I think. I don't think the tories will be able to get an overall majority, the libdem vote is almost certainly going to collapse and labour are directionless and seem to have forgotten what they stand for.

It's just possible that we are going to see a significant number of surprise victories by different minor parties in different places. The SNP will do very well again in Scotland, and I think we could see Green MPs returned in anything up to ten English constituencies. If Respect get their act together they could win seats in areas the Greens can't.

Labour are naturally placed to win, but Ed Milliband just hasn't got what it takes to be a Prime Minister, and almost everybody knows this. And even if he goes, there's not exactly a vast amount of talent in the shadow cabinet poised to take over.

Let's hope we don't see too many right wing nutters come creeping out of the shadows.

Who would they vote for?