I’ll be a new broom who opponents fear, claims Galloway
GEORGE Galloway – the maverick former MP who was expelled from the Labour Party – said he will be a new broom which people “won’t like when they see it coming” if he wins the West Bromwich East seat in the General Election.
The 65-year-old veteran politician made his bold claim at a campaign launch where he said he would lift Sandwell into the premier league, mirroring the local football team’s West Bromwich Albion’s hopes of promotion this season.
He is standing as independent Brexit candidate in the former seat of Tom Watson who resigned from parliament last week.
Mr Galloway, who was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003, told some 40 supporters he was standing on a platform of proBrexit, pro-Corbyn and – following years of allegations of wrongdoing in the Sandwell’s Labour dominated council - anticorruption.
He said: “One of my main roles if I am elected as the independent member of parliament here will be a new broom, a stiff new broom. Trust me, they won’t like it when they see it coming.”
Attacking Tom Watson’s record as MP for West Bromwich East, he said he would support Jeremy Corbyn in parliament, claiming: “We would already have a Labour leader in government if it had not been for Tom Watson and his gang stabbing the party in the back on a day-by-day basis.”
Equating himself to West Bromwich Albion’s manager, Slaven Bilic, he said: “He’s taking you up to the top, to the Premier
League at the end of the season. You should look at me like that.”
On Brexit he warned: “If you tell the people you are going to have a referendum, and that the people’s say will be final and then when the people decide you spend three whole years, wrecking, derailing, blocking the decision the people made, you are asking for trouble.” His speech came only hours before a flurry of announcements by both the Conservatives and Labour about who would be their nominees in Sandwell’s three constituencies.
In West Bromwich East, Labour ignored the wishes of local party members for a local candidate by selecting Ibrahim Dogus, a restaurateur and the current Mayor of Lambeth.
In the same seat the Conservatives chose Dudley councillor Nicola Richards as their choice for the December election.
In West Bromwich West, Jim Cunningham was selected to defend the Labour stronghold after former MP Adrian Bailey announced he too was stepping down.
He is being opposed by Shaun Bailey, a trainee solicitor, on behalf of the Conservatives.
In Warley, Dr Chandra Kanneganti, a GP from Stoke-onTrent is hoping to beat Labour’s John Spellar who is defending his whopping 16,483 majority.
Other candidates standing in Warley are the Green’s Kathryn Downs and Bryan Manley-Green for the Liberal Democrats.
Mark Redding is the Green Party choice in West Bromwich East alongside the Lib Dem’s Andy Graham.
In West Bromwich West, Flo Clucas will fight the seat for the Liberal Democrats while the Greens will be represented by Keir Williams.