‘This is for Gaza’: UK politics at crossroads with Galloway’s win
Gaza presents Britain with two outcomes: enduring establishment control with reputational costs or, more likely, significant transformations driven by the profound mental shift in the young generation
George Galloway, known for his criticism of Israel’s atrocities, won the by-election in Rochdale and became the newly elected member of Parliament for the Workers Party of Britain (WPB).
“This is for Gaza,” he said in his victory speech.
Galloway has long been known for his anti-Israel leftist stance. When Liverpool won the Champions League in 2019, he celebrated that there would be no Israeli flag in the cup and for this reason, he was fired from his position as a talkRADIO presenter.
It is known that he prays for Jews who claim to be anti-Zionists and tweets in support of them using the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, which he uses frequently. It should also be remembered that he said Jerusalem could not be the capital of Israel and had an intense reaction to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision. His other characteristics include his closeness to Russia and China and his support for Assad. There are also his hostile attacks on Erdoğan and his misconceptions of presenting Türkiye’s cross-border operations as attempts at ethnic cleansing. This last mistake is something that is also seen in many other British politicians and this overlap with them is a point that makes him “ordinary.” However, other issues, especially his determined stance against Israel’s atrocities for years, contrast with the general picture in the House of Commons.
The forced removal of Labor candidate Azhar Ali, who seemed guaranteed to win the seat here, from candidacy is undoubtedly a serious factor in achieving victory. When Ali announced his belief that Israel had deliberately allowed Hamas’ attack, the whole United Kingdom caught fire. Politics and the media have been blaming Ali feverishly for days. There were many reactions to Ali from within Labour, and eventually, the chairperson, Keir Starmer, suspended him.
This incident constituted indisputable evidence that the U.K. has completely failed regarding freedom of thought and expression. It has also been seen once again that the “establishment” in the U.K. is literally under Israeli control. When it comes to Israel’s allegations and conspiracy theories against Hamas, let alone opposing their utterance, the British media itself has and continues to tout these allegations with its news and columns. However, when there was a conspiracy theory against Israel, it was suppressed with the most violent and intense reaction, as if this claim was a poison that represented the greatest danger for England. The same British media and politicians have no shame in claiming that Türkiye curtails freedom of thought and press in case those who support a terrorist organization are arrested with 100% evidence. These very obvious contradictions are undoubtedly significant slipups on behalf of the U.K.
SHIFTING LOYALTIES
The Establishment is even making its youth increasingly rebel with these big faux pas. British conservatives also rebel against those who do not support the genocide committed by Israel and who react to the colonialists, racists and slave traders in their history. However, as many conservative writers accept and admit, the ground gradually slips from under them. So much so that, according to a survey published in 2022, only 1 in 5 of the younger generation even like Churchill. While the Establishment blames Prince Harry the most and makes extraordinary propaganda that he has done the greatest harm to the monarchy (and middle-aged British people generally think the same), young people believe that Prince Andrew has done the greatest harm to the monarchy. According to a survey in 2021, those who support the monarchy were 53%, and it was observed that this rate mainly consisted of middle-aged and older people, while the opponents mostly consisted of the young generation. This conflict also came out in the Brexit referendum, with young people mostly supporting remaining in the EU.
In 1967, there were incidents where the school administration caned an 8-year-old child for saying he did not like the Queen. Until the late 1960s, the Queen did not allow ethnic minorities to work as servants in the palace. British history during the colonial period and its leading figures could be taught easily, with praise and pride. Today, it is stated that academics do not dare to say that this period had some positive aspects. When we look at the days we live in after half a century, it is evident that there has been a serious social transformation and that this inevitably has a bearing on political decisions.
Looking at these developments, it can be thought that the genocide being committed in Gaza and its impact on people will lead to different developments in the long term. Various articles were published in the pro-genocide mainstream media in the U.K. in which the Israeli government was warned that, even if it was right, the situation was leading to an irreparable loss of reputation and image damage. Even though those writers do not express it clearly, the damage to the reputation and image in question also applies to them, who are supporters of Israel’s actions. The more an administration loses the trust of its people and becomes unable to meet a common ground with a large number of people, the more troubles and problems an administration faces. Likewise, the deeper the polarization among the people, the more of a headache a country has.
In short, Gaza confronts Britain with two different possibilities, one of which seems inevitable: Either the establishment mentality will continue to hold the strings but will be forced to walk with a much greater loss of reputation and trust and with an even more polarized society. Or, the mental transformation of the young generation will reach more serious dimensions and bring about other transformations within the country. The second possibility seems more likely.
The return of Galloway, who was once disgraced and badly marginalized, to Parliament may be one of the forerunners of other developments to come. In the foreseeable future, we may encounter a scenario where Corbyn returns, or someone like him rises. In the articles written with great concern in the Israeli media, the rising anti-Israel sentiment among the younger generations and the fact that even the American Evangelical youth are turning away from Israel are discussed. Therefore, not in a few years, but in the next quarter of a century, we may see intriguingly different plants, whose seeds are sown in the gardens of today, grow and surround them.