Ex-England cricketer among hundreds to stand for George Galloway’s party | Workers party

The previous England cricketer Monty Panesar and a former Ukip MEP are amongst tons of of candidates who will run below the banner of George Galloway’s Employees social gathering on the basic election.

The social gathering, which is looking for to capitalise on discontent over Labour’s dealing with of the Gaza battle, additionally mentioned it could assist the previous Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and Claudia Webbe in the event that they ran once more as independents.

Galloway claimed on Tuesday he was in talks with three Labour MPs and a peer about defecting. Abbott was not amongst them, Galloway mentioned, and Tahir Ali, the Labour MP for Birmingham, Corridor Inexperienced, denied being one both.

Galloway, who was joined in Parliament Sq. by dozens of the five hundred candidates he mentioned the social gathering had prepared, mentioned: “We’re right here – now a nationwide drive. For Britain, for Gaza, for the working class.”

Galloway is hoping to duplicate his victory within the Rochdale byelection when he received virtually 40% of the vote after a contest that was dominated by the battle in Gaza. Labour deserted its candidate, Azhar Ali, over inflammatory feedback he made about Israel.

Whereas the Employees social gathering just isn’t thought to be being ready to win another Westminster seats – and Galloway faces a battle to carry on to his personal – it may peel very important assist from Labour.

One other Employees social gathering candidate would be the former Labour MP for Derby North Chris Williamson, who misplaced a excessive courtroom combat in 2019 to be reinstated into Labour after he was suspended in a row over antisemitism.

The social gathering additionally unveiled Khalil Ahmed, a Labour candidate from 2019, who’s to face in Wycombe; the previous Ukip MEP Amjad Bashir, who defected to the Conservatives in 2015 and can stand in Pudsey; two former British ambassadors, Peter Ford and Craig Murray, and quite a few Labour councillors who’ve defected; and Amrit Mann, a former Houslow mayor who will run for Feltham and Heston.

One other former Ukip candidate now with the Employees social gathering is Harry Boota, who was suspended as a Tory candidate in 2016 after suggesting homosexuality may very well be the results of being abused as a baby.

Some candidates have a background in fringe causes. The South Northamptonshire candidate, Mick Stott, is a former soldier who tried to recruit “common-law constables” to outnumber the police, who he believed have been appearing unlawfully throughout lockdown. Violent threats concerning the chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, have been voiced on a Telegram channel for the group arrange by Stott, who dissociated himself from the language and blamed “infiltrators”.

Panesar mentioned considered one of his priorities was a referendum on web zero emissions, which Galloway himself has described as a hoax.

Galloway expressed frustration with the time being taken by Corbyn, who has but to say whether or not he’ll stand once more in Islington North.

Different locations the place Employees social gathering backing may make a distinction embody Bethnal Inexperienced and Stepney, the place Labour faces a problem from the impartial candidate Mohammed Akunjee, a lawyer who has represented Shamima Begum, considered one of three ladies who left the UK to affix Islamic State and was later disadvantaged of her UK citizenship.