Councillor quits Labour and becomes Respect PPC

New Labour have breached all of its fundamental principles, according to a prominent member who has resigned and become the Respect parliamentary candidate for Halifax. Asama Javed, a sitting Bradford councillor who has joined George Galloway’s Respect party, claims that the party that she has campaigned for since she was a teenager has lost all of the principles that made her join. 

"I don’t feel as if I’ve left the party, rather the party has left me," she said. "I cannot be a member of an organisation that breaches all its fundamental principles. There is no fairness, no equality and no justice in the party I haveserved since I was a teenager. I am Old Labour and always will be."

Commenting on the news Respect leader George Galloway said: “It’s a major coup for Respect in the run-up to this election to have someone of the prestige and intellectual firepower of Asama joining us. She wowed an audience in Halifax a few days ago and she will, I’m sure, wow the electorate. I listened to that speech and thought, ‘a new star is born’. And like her I’m Old Labour and always will be. It’s political kismet.”

Galloway threatens legal action over tv debates

George Galloway last night threatened legal action to win a place in the TV election debates, as the leader of the Respect Party. The Bradford West MP said it would be unfair to invite other minor parties – including the Greens and Welsh Nationalists – yet exclude Respect. 

The legal threat came within hours of the announcement that the TV broadcasters had put forward fresh proposals in a so-called ‘7-7-2’ format. It would mean two of the debates would include seven parties – the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, the Greens, the SNP and Plaid Cymru.

Mr Galloway said: “We don’t want the seven dwarfs, we want the real deal – so let’s make it eight parties. My lawyers are on this now and we will be writing to the broadcasters, the watchdog Ofcom and the Prime Minister, if necessary, so these debates don’t go ahead without me. I look forward to the other leaders on the platform, saying ‘I agree with George’.”

Mr Galloway said he expected Respect to stand about 25 candidates at the General Election in May, in London, Birmingham and Sheffield as well as Bradford. However the minimum number of candidates for a party election broadcast is 89 leaving Respect 64 short. The Respect party only have 1 elected representative - Mr Galloway, the have no councillors, MEPs or members in any of the devolved assemblies/parliaments.

Clarification required into how Dr Abbas Khan died

The British doctor Abbas Khan died in custody in Syria yesterday. The Respect MP George Galloway had been negotiating for some months with the Syrian government over the release of Dr Khan and was due to fly out this week to bring him back to the United Kingdom.

"I think we will have to wait for clarification on how exactly he died," said Mr Galloway, "but this is heartbreaking and devastating news for his family who have been working so hard for so long to secure his release. Particularly because his freedom had been agreed and he was due to return with me in the next few days. My sincere condolences go out to his family whose pain is unbearable."

Dr Khan, a young orthopaedic surgeon, had been seized by Syrian government troops in Aleppo in November last year after he entered the country on a humanitarian mission, but without a visa. His death was intimated to the family yesterday. 

George Galloway said that he had been due to fly out to Damascus this Friday having been promised that he would be returning to Britain with Dr Abbas. "I have been in contact with the Syrian government many times, up to and including the president, the foreign minister, the justice minister and other ministers. Last week I received a call from the foreign minister telling me that the president had asked him to contact me to come to Damascus to bring Dr Khan home before Christmas. Obviously this had to be kept confidential but the family were kept fully informed. I was in the process of booking a flight for this Friday when I got the appalling news."

The Respect MP added: "I have spent the last few days dealing with our Foreign Office and the Syrian foreign minister, working out travel arrangements for the hazardous trip, as well as security arrangements. Dr Khan's family have also been talking to them, arranging an emergency passport. If the family think that I can be of any assistance in dealing with the Syrian government, or can help in any way, I am at their service. This is just such a terrible tragedy."

Hypocrisy thy name is Respect

The Respect Coalition have attacked Labour for joining the sinking ship when it comes to the workfare programme. The Respect attack is pretty strong saying "Shamefully and pathetically, Liam Byrne and Ed Miliband led Labour MPs into abstention so allowing the emergency law to pass. The poorest in our society needed to be protected at this moment and the Labour Party sat on their hands. Their argument was only that it was ‘a very difficult decision’ which will cost them nothing but cost the poor a huge amount" 

They continue "Respect stands with the 44 Labour MPs that rebelled and voted against the emergency law. We stand with Cait Reilly and Jamieson Wilson, who will now take the case to the Supreme Court. Workfare is an expensive and embarrassing failure that should cost the ConDems dearly. Tragically, Labour has deserted the poor and jumped aboard this sinking ship."

Only tiny problem with Respect's comments are, their 1 MP the one & only George Galloway, the man from Respect that could "stand with the 44 Labour rebels" didn't bother to turn up and vote himself. So Respect say Labour have "deserted the poor" by not voting against but as their own MP didn't vote against either we can assume they accept by the same rhetoric they have also "deserted the poor" too.

Is Cameron planning on using boundaries vote as a confidence issue to get the Lib Dems out?

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has confirmed that he will push the proposals on the new boundaries to the vote in the Commons. Despite the fact the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced yesterday that the the Liberal Democrats will vote with the Labour party and against the changes.

Like Labour the Liberal Democrats would be hurt by the proposed changes, the only party that benefits from the change is really the Conservative party and as the Tories broke the coalition agreement by failing to get ninety one of their backbenchers into the aye lobby on Lords reform it is clear to see that Mr Clegg is developing a backbone by standing up to Cameron and saying no to what the Tories want this time.

Mr Cameron on confirming he will push ahead regardless of the outcome said that "obviously we want the boundary vote to go ahead". "I am going to say to every MP 'look the House of Commons ought to be smaller, less expensive and we ought to have seats which are exactly the same size'," he said. "I think everyone should come forward and vote for that proposal because it is a very sensible proposal and it will be put forward."

However, I believe he is planning on calling the Liberal Democrats bluff by pushing on. It is unheard of for parliamentary private secretaries to be allowed to stay in the government if they vote against government policy it is totally unbelievable to think the Deputy Prime Minister plus the four other Lib Dem cabinet Ministers and nineteen junior ministers could stay.

Cameron would be under serious pressure from his own side to push the Lib Dems out and govern as a minority government. Stewart Jackson (Con Peterborough) tweeted "Lib Dems have ratted on a solemn promise. What is the point of continuing with Coalition other than to keep Cameron in No 10 at any cost?" He followed that up with with "So when are we going to get a vote on a marriage tax break or British Bill of Rights or EU referendum? The Coalition is all but dead anyway".

So it is starting to unravel and the Prime Minister may be considering using it as an excuse to break the coalition and govern alone and the Liberal Democrats need all the time to detoxify their brand before the next election. Although as there are over two years to go before the next election it is safe to say the Tories wouldn't be able to govern on their own for long as they just haven't got the votes in the Commons. 

Although there could be a change of government without an election. If the Conservatives can't keep the confidence of the Commons then the Prime Minister goes to the Palace and informs Her Majesty of the situation and advises her to call on the Leader of the Opposition to see if he can form a government. Dave will be hoping he can't as then he can call a general election. However the breakdown of seats show they could form a government in reality. As Sinn Fein don't take their 5 seats only 323 is needed for a majority of one:

Labour party 257 (258 when they win Corby)

Social Democratic & Labour Party 3 (who take the Labour whip)

Liberal Democrat party 57

Total 318 short by 5

Conservative party 305 (when they lose Corby)

Democratic Unionist Party 8

Total 312 short by 11

Others

Scottish National Party 6

Plaid Cymru 3

Independent 2

Alliance Party 1

Green party 1

Respect 1

Total 14

Labour and the Liberal Democrats would be short by five of a majority but would have the advantage over the Conservatives/DUP as all of the others with the exception of one, Lady Silvia Herman (Ind North Down) are of the centre left and would more than likely be willing to work with a Lib/Lab coalition on a supply and confidence basis when it comes to the budgets and Queen's speeches. Of course it has been in the past the Scots/Welsh Nationalist's policy not to vote on English only matters. 

So a credible government led by Ed Miliband with the Liberal Democrats could come into place. The only snag would be the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg. During the Alternative Vote (AV) referendum the Labour leader refused to sit on a platform with Mr Clegg. But Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls has said in the past that the Labour party would be happy to work with Vince Cable. 

So if the Lib Dems managed to agree to a coronation for Vince Cable to be their new leader then there could easily be another coalition governmet. David Cameron could easily just end up with him and his party back on the other side of the House in opposition. If that did happen then I doubt as being as ruthless as the are the Conservative party would allow him to remain as the leader of their party. 

So Cameron's gamble to try and go to the country two years early could easily just backfire in his face. Not only putting Labour back into power but finishing his front line political career for good and Mr Cameron going down in history as one of the shortest serving Prime Minister's ever!

Labour crushed in Bradford West

The result (graphic courtesy of Skynews)

The Labour party is licking its wounds this morning after the Respect Coalition inflicted a huge defeat on them. During the campaign, when not talking about pasties and eating sausage rolls, Ed Miliband said "This is a chance for the people of Bradford West to deliver a verdict on a Budget which will force millions to pay more so that millionaires can pay less". So Ed says that but he and his party abstained on the "tax cuts for millionaires" and the people of Bradford West clearly didn't accept his opportunistic hypocrisy.

The Respect Coalition in 2010 finished 17,156 vote behind the Labour party. Bradford West bucked the national trend in 2010 with a 2.9% from the Tories to Labour. Also funnily enough in 1997 they bucked the trend also, with a swing to John Major's Tories from New Labour. Last night George Galloway increased Respect's vote by 52.8%. Labour's vote fell by 20.3% the Tories were down 22.7% the Liberal Democrats were down 7.1% UKIP went up 1.3% Green fell by 0.8%, the Democratic Nationalist vote fell by 0.1% the Monster Raving Loony party didn't stand in 2010.

Labour blogger Dr Eion Clarke claims that the biggest losers last night were the Tories, on the percentage vote he has a point, but not much of one. Since 1974 Bradford was rock solid Labour, they lost the seat for two years in 1981 but not through the ballot box but because the then Labour MP Edward Lyons defected to the then Social Democratic Party. The Labour party regained the seat in the landslide won by Mrs Thatcher in 1983.

This result is a disastrous result for Labour. Ed Miliband really needs to sort this mess out. His bandwagon jumping over the "pasty tax" over the last week seems to of backfired. Sally Bercow tweeted: "Perhaps the moral of the story is don't prioritise pasties over people? #bradfordwest" 

Labour Deputy Leader, Harriet Harman, told Skynews "This is a very bad result". On the Today programme she said has said that Labour's performance in the Bradford West by-election is "very disappointing" but that the electorate jumped on the "bandwagon" in voting for the Respect Party's George Galloway. she went on "that there was "a particular problem in Bradford" which they have to understand and discuss locally in order to rebuild links for Labour in the area".

Salma Yaqoob, leader of the Respect Party, said that George Galloway won because "the three main parties are not connecting," and are all taking positions of austerity. But she said that Respect's message is that "an alternative is possible and achievable.". "People feel betrayed" in Labour's heartland, she said, adding that their message to the Labour party is "come back to your people".

Conservative party Chairman Sayeeda Warsi told the Today programme "what we should of seen last night is a huge Labour victory if Ed Miliband can't get is act together after a week like this, when is he going to get his act together. But instead we saw a 36% swing against Labour to the Respect party and the people of Bradford West saying you can't take us for granted we're not going to vote for you".

Ed Miliband's bandwagon jumping over pasties and the "pasty tax" but refusing to say Labour would reverse it. Criticising the government over tax cuts for the rich then doesn't vote against them in the Commons despite Ed Balls saying they'd do just that. What the people in Bradford see in the Labour party is a metropolitan bunch of elites who aren't interested in them. George Galloway has knocked Miliband down and if Boris beats Ken in early May - then its likely to be game over for Ed!