the RESPECT party

'David Cameron and his Bullingdon Club buddy Gideon Osborne cannot blame Europe for Britain's first double-dip recession since the 1970s,' said George Galloway today, while campaigning in Bradford for the local elections.

'It is the savage cuts to public spending that have sent us back into this disastrous recession. It is ABC that if the private sector isn't investing and the taxpayer is cutting consumption for fear of unemployment, slashing government spending will drive the economy down. That's what I predicted and it's exactly what has happened.

'The government is now going to make things even worse in Bradford. They have singled out Bradford council for some of the worst cuts in the region and they now want to introduce regional pay in the public sector which is code for pay cuts.

'There are easy ways for the government to cut the deficit if this is the problem they claim it is. We should bring all our troops home from foreign wars, scrap the replacement of Trident and we could close the tax loopholes which allow £100 billion in taxes to be avoided and evaded every year. If we did those three things, we would be quids in with no deficit."

"Labour's belated concern about postal vote fraud is utterly hypocritical." said Abjol Miah, National Chair of The Respect Party this afternoon.

Responding to complaints by six Tower Hamlets Labour councillors to the Electoral Commission and the EC calling in the police, Mr Miah went on. "For eight years now we in Respect have been campaigning for an end to the postal vote on demand system. It is wide open to fraud and to voter intimidation.

"At the general and local elections in Tower Hamlets in 2010, it was Labour candidates who had multiple voters registered for whom they could not account. Labour was completely silent when we raised these issues with the returning officer, the Electoral Commission and the police. 

This Thursday Londoners go to the polls to elect a Mayor. The race is neck and neck between Tory candidate Boris Johnson and Labour’s Ken Livingstone.

Let me make it absolutely clear that there are overwhelmingly positive reasons to vote for Ken Livingstone. Most of all, Londoners will be better off with a combination of measures to cut fares, rents, and the cost of childcare, restore EMA and tackle crime. Many will be better off by over £1000 during the four years of his mayoralty through his fares cut alone.

The referendum on a Mayor for Birmingham has not exactly set the city alight with political debate. It isn’t hard to see why.

I look from the ‘Yes’ campaign to the ‘No’ campaign, and all I see are the same old politicians; the very people who have failed this city for so long.

It isn’t only that they are all equally uninspiring, although they are. It isn’t, either, that the contest is in danger of being dominated by middle-aged men – although some might say that these particular men have had enough chances to play the civic leader already without any great success.

The Murdoch Empire is the symbol of the rottenness of our political system. It used its power and huge share of the media market to wield political influence and shape government policy. The admissions at the Leveson inquiry this week demonstrate how much the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats jump to the tune of the Murdochs. Christmas Dinner with Cameron, private jets to fly him to meetings with Murdoch, Jeremy Hunt and his staff liaising with Murdoch on a daily basis when it was seeking to make a huge amount of money from the BSkyB bid.

Britain is suffering a double dip recession for the first time since 1975. Yesterday’s output figures show that the UK economy is nowhere near recovering from the credit crisis that started in 2007.

What does a ‘double dip’ recession mean? In jargon, it means that in six of the eight quarters (each year is split into quarters) since the ConDem coalition took office, the British economy has been shrinking. When Gideon Osborne, the 'arrogant posh boy' Chancellor, took office, the economy was growing by 1.1% per year. Once he started the drums of ‘austerity’, cutting public services to keep the rich in the City happy, that growth quickly turned negative.

In reality, a ‘double dip’ recession means that the charity UK Foodbank, which provides food parcels to people unable to pay for themselves, doubled the number of people who it helped last year. It is opening 2 new foodbanks every week at the moment. For the last six years, wages have fallen behind price rises and the cuts in benefits have made the suffering worse. If people have less money to spend, then less will be bought in shops so the service sector (a whopping 75% of the British economy) is stuck in recession.

"In the acres of coverage of what George Galloway showily called "the Bradford spring", one thing was overlooked. He secured his byelection win in the name of a party: Respect, whose tangled history goes back to 2004. He remains its most recognisable public face, but its leader is Salma Yaqoob, whose personal style represents a sharp contrast with the way Galloway does things. Whereas he tends to pursue his aims in the manner of someone single-handedly performing the last act of Macbeth, she is altogether more measured and open: a reassuringly human operator, with a string of celebrated media appearances – not least on BBC1's Question Time – to her name, as well as a few creditable political successes."

The madness and cruelty at the heart of ConDem austerity policies has been exposed again. The London Borough of Newham in East London, one of the poorest areas in the UK, has a housing waiting list of over 28,000 people. Last year, because of ConDem local government grant cuts, it made £100 million of cuts in services. These cuts are having a terrible effect on some of society’s poorest but more is to come.

The ConDem housing benefit cap has placed further pressure on the council budget as private market rents are above the cap in Newham partly due to the coming Olympic games in the area. This means that the council will lose money each time it places a family on the waiting list in a London house or flat. This is not an incentive to help London’s homeless and in need. Capping the private rental charges makes more sense but goes against 'market knows best' mantras that get more hollow by the day.

The 2012 Respect Party conference will take place in Bradford on  Saturday 16th June. The conference is open to all members of the Respect Party and is your chance to determine the priorities and strategy of the Respect Party in the coming year.

The conference be a a full day of debate and discussion on the best strategy to take Respect forward in the coming year. Delegates will also have the opportunity to listen to international guest speakers and elect part of the incoming National Council (for details of the regional elections please see below).

The conference will take place at the Connaught Rooms, Manningham Lane, Bradford, BD1 3EA. The registration desk will open at 9.30am and the conference begins at 10.30am. A full agenda will be confirmed after the National Council meeting on 12th May (please note - the planned opening rally on the Friday evening has been cancelled).

The main strategy motion proposed by the National Council can be seen here
A constitutional amendment proposed by the Officers Group can be seen here. Amendments from branches or signed by six members should be submitted to conference2012@therespectparty.org by 11th June.

The trial of Anders Breivik in Norway this week has revealed the dangers of resurgent fascism across Europe. His own testimony has shown that he hates the multicultural society in which different communities live together and work together and targets immigration as a cause. He hates Islam, viewing it as a threat to his idea of ‘civilization’, which obviously involves murdering innocent people. Anders Breivik bombed government buildings in Oslo killing 8 then massacred 69 people on the island of Utøya, mostly teenagers attending a summer camp.

The poison of his ideas was matched by his deeds, revealing the problem with allowing fascists to air their racism. When they are allowed to speak and organize, it gives them confidence to attack, terrorize and kill. The trial of Anders Breivik illustrates that the main threat of terrorism comes from the far-right fundamentalists.

George Galloway is perhaps the most experienced ‘newbie’ MP you’ll ever meet. As he walks through Westminster Hall, he urges guests not to step on the plaque to ‘Braveheart’ William Wallace. On the way to the Central Lobby, he points to the statue of Charles James Fox, his favourite parliamentarian (a fellow radical, anti-imperialist with a colourful private life). Up the steps to the Committee Corridor, he identifies the spot where Spencer Perceval was shot dead. And, adding a bit of 20th century history, he even recalls the site where John Reid once threw a punch at him during a row over the first Gulf War.

Like a London cabby showing off his (pre-SatNav era) Knowledge, the newly elected Member for Bradford West certainly knows the nooks and crannies of the Palace of Westminster. He may have a New York radio show, a TV programme in the Middle East, a column in the Daily Record and a new fanbase in West Yorkshire, but the Respect Party MP can’t resist the lure of the House of Commons.

"I am calling today for Respect supporters in Birmingham to back Green Party candidates standing in the local elections on 3 May," writes Respect Party Leader Salma Yaqoob.

RECOMMENDED ARTICLE: MediaLens looks at the response of the mianstream media to George Galloway's election victory

George Galloway, Respect MP for Bradford West, has issued a call for voters in France, and French voters in Britain, to support Jean-Luc Melenchon and the Front de Gauche in the first round of the French presidential election on Sunday.

Hundreds of supporters in Bradford attended the big thank you celebration at the Venue on Sunday 15th April. They heard from Respect's local election candidates and victorious MP George Galloway who thanked everyone who helped in his historic election victory.



Watch the speeches by Respect's local election candidates below.

Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband has been challenged on more claims he has made in the last few days against George Galloway since Galloway's shock by-election victory in Bradford West.

At a meeting in Derby, Miliband absurdly claimed Galloway had promised Bradford voters he would cut taxes. Now it is alleged Miliband also claimed to a meeting in Exeter that Galloway supported Saddam Hussain and President Assad of Syria. These claims have been challenged in a letter to Miliband from Galloway aide Rob Hoveman. Hoveman is still waiting for a response to a previous email challenging the taxes claim.

The text of the email to Miliband is below.

Israeli authorities deployed hundreds of police officers to arrest and deport pro-Palestinian visitors. Airlines across the world bowed to Israeli prsseure to ban from pro-Palestinian activists from flying to Israel and travelling onto the West Bank. This video from Manchester Airport shows events on the morning of 15th April as activists tried to baord their Jet2 flight. Norma Turner reporst from Manchester here

Norma Turner writes from Manchester

30 people had committed themselves to flying to Tel Aviv from Manchester Airport as part of “Welcome to Palestine”. These people were all ages, from 20s to 70s. They represented a wide range of professions, including teaching, nursing and other skills useful to the project of building a much needed school in Bethlehem. They all intended to travel peacefully and were at no time going to disrupt the flights or the airports.

The Jet2.com flight was due to leave at 10.00 am on Sunday 15th April 2012. They would be joining at least 1,500 activists, mostly from Europe, who had been planning to travel directly from Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv to Bethlehem in the West Bank for a week-long programme of educational and cultural activities under the banner of “Welcome to Palestine”. Israel controls all entry points to the West Bank.
Everyone had booked and paid for their flights with Jet2.com and most had checked in online. Midday on Friday 13th April through to Sunday morning people started to receive emails from Jet2 saying that they would not be allowed on the flights, because Israel would not receive them. Jet2 also said they would not refund the tickets.

Leader of the Labour Party Ed Miliband was this morning challenged over claims he made about George Galloway in a meeting in Derby. Miliband claimed he had heard that George Galloway had said he would cut taxes in the run up to the Bradford West by-election.

Now Rob Hoveman, one of Galloway's principal aides, has written to Miliband describing the claim as absurd and calling on him to retract the claim. He has also challenged Miliband to come to Bradford and debate with George Galloway.

The full text of the email to Ed Miliband is immediately below:

The ferocity of the attacks on George Galloway by the British commentariat is one of the most revealing outcomes of his victory in the Bradford West by-election. News presenters saw no problem in conducting interviews with the newly elected MP that were largely a shower of insulting and unproven accusations. Columnists wrote thousands of shrill words warning readers that he and his victory were atypical and had no broader significance for the country. And, if his success did have any relevance, it was the ominous one of illustrating deepening racial division in Britain, despite the fact that Mr Galloway continually explained that he had won in non-Muslim as well as Muslim majority wards.

There is an amusing half-hour to be spent watching YouTube clips of television interviews with Mr Galloway in the days after he was elected. With a few honourable exceptions – Sky was more even-handed here than the BBC or ITN – most of the interviewers appeared in the role of prosecuting attorneys. They had the air of men and women who knew they were not going to be reprimanded by their employers, however rude they were to the successful candidate. They were convulsed with rage because Mr Galloway said complimentary things to Saddam Hussein and Bashar al-Assad when he met them. Of course he had, as had every other visitor from Donald Rumsfeld to Tony Blair who had been to see these autocrats when they were in power. Other criticism was of astonishing naivety. For instance, had not Mr Galloway played ethnic politics by cultivating Muslim voters? Of course he had since they were numerous in the constituency, but then so had Labour to a far greater extent by selecting a Pakistani Muslim as its candidate.

Read the full article in The Independent here

Shaker Aamer has been held in Guantánamo Bay since 2002. He is a legal permanent resident of the UK, married to a British national, with four British children living in London.

George Galloway writes in the Morning Star

I am proud of the list of Respect candidates. I believe they are a much needed breath of fresh air in Bradford local politics.

We were inundated with hundreds of applications following George Galloway's stunning victory in Bradford West. There were many from the 'old guard', including existing and ex councillors who were keen to jump ship in the face of the huge support for Respect. There were many who came offering what they consider to be bank votes due to their 'biraderi' links. All these were rejected. Some took to facebook to express resentment following them not being accepted.

Seamus Milne writes in the Guardian. The rise of France's 'third man' and Bradford's by-election both show a left populism can win mass support in this crisis. 

Helen Pidd reports for The Guardian The maverick politician spoke to Muslim women directly, told local men to respect their wives' opinions and mobilised his female supporters to hit the doorsteps. One week on, the women who secured Galloway's victory speak out. 

Every five years, for all of her adult life, Farida Faizi went through the same old routine. "I'd answer the door around election time," she said, "and the Labour man would say: 'Is your dad in?' or: 'Can I speak to your husband?'" Faizi is 41 years old, runs her own jewellery business and has four children. But she accepted it. The Labour canvassers would have a word with her husband, just like always, and then they would both vote Labour. Just like always. It was the way things went in many Asian households in Bradford West.

George Galloway speaking at 'Debating Syria', organised by Iraqi Democrats Against Occupation. University of London Union. 4 April 2012. Camera and edit by Dan Poulton.

 

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29.03.2012 was a sensational moment in British political history. George Galloway has dubbed his victory in Bradford West the Bradford Spring. There’s never been anything quite like it – a party from the Left, outside the Westminster mainstream, turning a safe Labour Seat into a 10,000 majority against war and cuts, for a progressive alternative. Wear ‘Bradford Spring’ on your chest wherever you are and share in the joy of, for once, the neo-liberal consensus being shattered.

AND even better, for every shirt sold we will give one FREE to the army of young helpers, many unemployed who helped ensure the success in Bradford West. A small help toward ensuring the ‘Bradford Spring’ becomes a change for all seasons.

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George Galloway's win has proved that people, including the young, can be reconnected with politics writes Mark Steel in The Independent

Britain is different now, since George Galloway was elected in Bradford. Partly this is because he's splendidly unpredictable, so it's possible he'll resign to compete in the Olympics at weightlifting, or discover he's fourth in line to the throne. He's also baffled the politicians and commentators who think they know how politics works. So the suggestion is made that the outcome was a result of Galloway unfairly courting the Muslim vote. Because as anyone knows, if you want to trick a Muslim to vote for you, it's best to be a Scottish Catholic standing against a Labour Muslim. That's why the entire Pakistani parliament is made up of Celtic fans, and the current Prime Minister of Bangladesh is Andy McDowell, from Falkirk.

Unlike their parents, young (jobless) voters have no lingering loyalty to the Big Three parties, writes Neil Clark in The Week

HE WON because he shamelessly pandered to Muslim voters' "religious passions" and "prejudices about conflicts abroad". He won because there were outstanding local issues and widespread dissatisfaction with Bradford City Council. He won because... well, he's a showman and a good public speaker.

Britain's political and journalistic elite have come up with a variety of reasons to account for George Galloway's stunning by-election win in Bradford West last Thursday, but the majority agree that his win was both (a) a terrible day for democracy and (b) a one-off that thankfully won't be replicated in a general election.

But are they right – or could the political elite be in for the biggest shock of their lives?

Read the full article here

George Galloway addresses the huge crowd at his election celebration in Infirmary Field on Sunday 1st April. The introductory speeches are from Kevin Ovenden and Respect Party leader Salma Yaqoob