Will Muslim Votes Cause Labour to Lose This Safe Seat?

by Liberty and Power

If you’re looking for an interesting article on the British general election, go here . Although this is primarily an account of the fight between Oona King , the Labour incumbent, and George Galloway of Respect to represent Bethnal Green and Bow in the House of Commons, the author also offers insights into national culture and politics. This is the constituency where in 1888 Jack the Ripper stalked his victims. This is the constituency where in 1936 the local Jewish community fought Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts. And this is now a constituency where around 55,000 Muslims, mainly Bangladeshis, make up more than half the electorate.

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Max Swing - 4/24/2005

As I said, I don't know much about him, and I think it is quite interesting to see mostly socialist presidents or politicians travelling to Mr. Saddam (when he was still in power). It might be that they were in need of some moral back-up for their own agendas ;)

Matthew Humphreys - 4/23/2005

PS, I have just put up a piece about the election on my own blog here. Feel free to comment there if you wish :-)

MH

Matthew Humphreys - 4/22/2005

Mark, Max,

One has to consider differences in context - you and I may both have opposed the invasion of Iraq, but at times Galloway at times seemed almost to [i]sympathise[i/] with Saddam.

Of course, he's also a socialist f**kwad :-)

MH

Max Swing - 4/22/2005

Well, I think a politician can't just travel to Iraq in order to survey the situation by himself, without meeting Saddam Hussein. If you were dead set on visiting Iraq, you had to come to Saddam in order to be able to look around the country.

I think it is hard to tell, whether there are actual relationships between the politicians, or rather the usual diplomatic quibble, that says nothing at all....

However, I am not a well-read man on this Galloway of yours, so you might be right, after all :)

Mark Brady - 4/21/2005

Yes, I too, as an ex-patriate Brit, found the article a good read.

You write, "Opposing the war is one thing but supporting a dictator is something else - and Galloway did repeatedly travel to Iraq and meet with Saddam personally." Of course, it all depends what you mean by support. Whatever the sins of George Galloway, he didn't provide Saddam with weapons.

There are, of course, many who did. Let's not forget Rumsfeld who also travelled to Iraq and met with Saddam personally. During the eighties the U.S., like the UK and Germany, authorized the sale of weapons to Iraq. Read the full story here . "A 1994 congressional inquiry also found that dozens of biological agents, including various strains of anthrax, had been shipped to Iraq by US companies, under licence from the commerce department."

Matthew Humphreys - 4/21/2005

Speaking as a Brit, that is a fascinating article.

However despite my own objections to the Iraq conflict, I quite frankly hope Galloway and the Respect group sink without a trace. Opposing the war is one thing but supporting a dictator is something else - and Galloway did repeatedly travel to Iraq and meet with Saddam personally.

I do wonder what to make of the religious muslims' dislike of Galloway though, might it in fact mirror relations between Saddam's regieme and Islamist terrorists?

MH