The Staggers

The New Statesman’s rolling politics blog

Galloway returns

Footage of the newly-elected Respect MP being sworn in at parliament.

By George Eaton Published 16 April 2012 16:10

George Galloway in front of the Houses of Parliament prior to being sworn in as an MP. Photograph: Getty Images.

After his landslide victory in last month's Bradford West by-election, here's footage of George Galloway being sworn in as an MP earlier today. His supporters were the Father of the House, Conservative MP Peter Tapsell, and Labour MP Gerry Sutcliffe.

At 0:58 seconds, Galloway is seen to apologise for almost treading on Michael Gove's toes. With typical politeness, the Education Secretary, a self-described neoconservative and no friend of Galloway's, simply replies: "congratulations".

Video:

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6 comments

Wed, 2012-06-13 17:22 — Andrew Chapman (not verified)

This is quite a good article. Many new questions emerge to the surface, all you need do is to read further information about the issues. Only then one can form a final view on a particular subject. Otherwise everything is seen only in the dimension of cum more black and white. The natural logic of evaluating things before vstavane skrine they were properly cognitively processed is a horrible mistake, made by those less intelligent. People should not throw away their common slovakia sense easily. Anything and everything deserves appropriate time for making judgements.

Tue, 2012-04-17 21:18 — Red Shift

testing

Mon, 2012-04-16 19:10 — Mr Danger

That's the last time he will be seen anywhere near Parliament for a long time.

Mon, 2012-04-16 19:10 — AD G. (not verified)

Regardless of whether or not people agree with his politics, it surely must be agreed that Mr. Galloway is a born parliamentarian and as such, it's heartening to see him take his place in amongst the large swathes of tedious careerists that now dominate the house.

MPs with a gift for a rhetoric and a sense of political independence are most incredibly rare because they are unavoidably seen as liabilities. Therein lies the large disadvantage of party politics, with hundreds of mediocre nodding dogs being shipped into safe seats, it's hard not to watch BBC parliament and not be immediately struck by a noxious sense of mediocrity. Here's to Galloway and many more independents like him on both sides of the political spectrum. Party politics is dying.

Tue, 2012-04-17 15:53 — DMyers

I absolutely agree. The air of vapidness emanating from about 95% of MPs (and I can't say the 'talent at Holyrood is much better, particularly from the Labour and Tory ranks) is sickening. No wonder the country is in such a mess.

Mon, 2012-04-16 16:55 — Davidaslindsay (not verified)

George Galloway has been introduced into the House of Commons, supported by the Father of the House, Sir Peter Tapsell, and by Gerry Sutcliffe, Labour MP for Bradford South.

Sir Peter is the living parliamentary link that the Toryism of old: Keynesian, pro-Commonwealth, opposed to everything that has come to be neoconservatism, accordingly anti-Thatcher, and on all of those grounds a stalwart defender of British sovereignty from the very start of the Eurofederalist project. Never mind Iraq. From the outset, he has opposed the war in Afghanistan.

And Mr Sutcliffe is a pro-life Catholic who embodies mainstream Labour, neither Bennite nor Blairite, neither Trotskyite nor Thatcherite.

Analyse those two positions, and see exactly how much difference that you can spot. The first can be more socially liberal than the second, and Gerry Sutcliffe has been constrained by office when it came to wars and the EU. But they form a broad stream, the mainstream of British politics.

Today, George Galloway identified himself with that. And it identified itself with him.