George Galloway signalled that he may stand in the byelection for Keir Starmer’s former seat and directly challenge Zack Polanski. He made the announcement on his Mother of All Talk Shows programme and said he would meet the leadership of the Workers Party of Britain online in the next 24 hours to decide whether to run.
He said: “I might be coming back to Britain because hey, there’s a byelection pending” and added, “Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Mr. Zack Polanski.” Galloway also said, “If we’re standing, it will almost certainly be me that is the candidate.”
George Galloway and Zack Polanski
Polanski was selected as the Green candidate for the byelection last week, setting up the direct challenge Galloway described. The contest follows Keir Starmer’s decision to stand down as an MP, which triggered the vote.
Galloway framed his candidacy around Polanski’s support for Ukraine and his position on trans rights, saying those views would make it difficult for the Workers Party of Britain to endorse him. He also said he supports Russia’s war on Ukraine as part of what he described as a wider anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist framework.
Gatwick airport in September
The dispute comes after Galloway and his wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, were questioned by counter-terror police at Gatwick airport in September. Galloway has pledged to take legal action against the Met police over that incident.
He also said Polanski’s name was not real and that he changed it because it sounded more Jewish. Polanski changed his surname from Paulden when he was 18 in order to honour his Jewish ancestry, and Andrew Feinstein wrote that “All progressives opposed to genocide, inequality, authoritarianism and climate catastrophe should vote for Zack.”
The Workers Party of Britain is due to make its decision online within the next 24 hours, and Galloway’s own line leaves the contest hanging on that meeting. If the party stands, he said it will almost certainly be him on the ballot.
