Be Excellent To Each Other

I wasn't paying attention to any by-election news, so it was with considerable shock that I woke up to find that this crazy, mouth-foaming bastard is an MP again. How has this happened? I was comfortably satisfied he'd become a lame duck after failing to get anywhere in the last General and Scottish elections. I expect we can look forward to some very interesting PMQs and the like when he gets a turn, but I'd rather not hear anything from him at all.

There were loads of banners and flags for him when I went into Bradford this morning. Didn't see any for the others.

He didn't just win, he smashed the opposition. Weird.

Well, Labour aren't doing a lot at present, the Conservatives and Lib Dems are busy messing everything up for the North, which leaves UKIP and the Democratic Nationalists who won't do well, as it is typically left leaning. The Greens are the Greens and 111 people liked the monsters. People chose what they thought was the best of a bad deal, I'd say.

I think it just goes to show quite how hated the big 3 parties are at the moment. A change from the norm, whatever that change, is seen as a good thing.
Although, as usual, the big 3 parties will put it down to voter apathy and the public not understanding their message as to why this has happened.

I wouldn't like to make any racial assumptions, but I can't help but surmise that the rather strong Asian population of Bradford could have found a lot to like in Galloway's strong anti-war and dementedly religious mainstays. He's a big, big fan of the Middle East, was big buddies with many of the overthrown regimes, and hates Israel. I'm sure quite a lot of people think he's super for those things, while I consider him a dangerous and utterly despicable individual.

Listening to R4 on the way in to work, a spokesperson for his party was being interviewed. The whole thing was framed as a "Bradford Spring"; according to the BBC there was apparently a very high proportion of Muslim voters turning out for him and said spokesperson was describing the British in Afghanistan as an "occupying force", endorsing "resistance" and refusing to outright condemn the killing of British soldiers there.

Still, it's a reet good kick in the nuts for pasty-eating RoboEd, so it's not all bad. I mean, if he cannot capitalise during a meaningless by-election, in a hitherto safe Labour seat, after the week the Conservatives and Liberals have just had...? Cripes.

Very telling in many ways. UKIP and D Nats up, showcasing a rightwards swing, which Galloway no doubt was in part elected by. Huge falls for the coalition (to be expected) and Labour (for not taking it seriously). But I doubt this has wider implications for the UK. With FPTP in place, Con and Lab will retain most seats in 2015, and a LD collapse will see the UK become very much a two-party state, with the exception of the SNP in Scotland, and the odd other seat here and there (Galloway, Lucas, maybe a half-dozen Liberal Democrats scattered around the country).

The most interesting thing for me. Galloway appears to have won based on gaining the Muslim vote, when his main opposition was a Muslim...

That just reflects Labour picking a candidate that they'll think will gen with the local populace, but fail to consider that perhaps those voters would rather have a fucking nutbar vocal extremeist that'll shamelessly squark and honk their views in parliament.

With over 50% of the vote, I'd weight more that it's more slap from the electorate for the main parties than anything else.

Even though I dislike Galloway and everything he stands for, and disklike the people who voted for him based on that. I actually have some respect for that, at least they have voted for someone they want, who will at least try to do something.

Galloway isn't just vocal, he's quite unhinged. I would be terrified if that man was representing me in parliament. I pretty much reject the notion that this is just the electorate trying to give the main parties 'a kicking'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZnUIeKOIgc

I miss Hitch.

Apart from the dangerous bit. IIRC, the last place he was elected in London (Bethnal Green?) he was dumped unceremoniously when the constituents realised he was only in it for the publicity.

Such was his support for Saddam Hussein, I think Private Eye called him, or quoted someone calling him, "The Right Honourable Member for Baghdad South".

We have to remember that Bradford is slightly silly.

I don't mind some UKIP swing incidentally. I actually think a small minority of highly eurosceptic MPs would be very healthy.

Haven't we got a few in the blues?

How so?

Eric Pickles was leader on their council for a few years in the 80s, being the leader for a couple of years. The city inevitably went into the dumpster.

So Cameron made him Secretary of State for Local Government.

Python?

Ah.

I'm still low on local knowledge. I only found out who Rombald was the other day.

Not necessarily, but yeah.

This is exactly what I was surmising, the R4 news people were certainly not hinting at it.

Not entirely sure how I feel about Galloway, I was cheering for him a bit during that weird Congress show-down thing, and he wasn't wrong about Iraq, however cozy with Saddam.

Nottingham are having a referendum on whether to keep the existing leader or replace them with a directly-elected mayor.

I'm not sure which way to vote at the moment. On one hand I find getting directly involved in the way the council is run is appealing; on the other, I don't have enough faith in the unwashed masses to make any good decisions...

Well they most certainly were on the Today programme this morning, if that's what you're referring to? The BBC interviewer described the victory as a "Bradford Spring", a clear reference to the Arab Spring of course. He also made a deliberate point of saying to the Respect spokesperson that the vote came from the Muslim community (which was refuted/denied, after a fashion) and then pressed her on condemning outright the killing of British soldiers in Afghanistan - nothing to do with the Bradford by-election afterall - which she manifestly failed to do. (Furthermore describing the British forces there as an occupying force and the legitimate merits of "resistance". Etc.).

Why bring up/mention these things, if not to highlight a possible racial dimension? I'm not saying I necessarily agree - I have no idea - but to suggest that the Beeb were not at the very least hinting at this stuff doesn't stack up I'm afraid.

A sheriff, surely.

I used to think Galloway was a bit smart, and very articulate, and I suppose I still do think so. You can like him for when he happens to be eloquently attacking something you think is worth of assault, which is fine, but when you consider the politician and the man, and his own personal views and motivations on things, it gets seriously scary. I really don't quite know what he would do if he was the one in power.

He very much seems to be of the opinion that the world should never interfere in countries where dictators routinely massacre their own people, supress free speech, and are utterly despotic and corrupt. The solution for those countries, he maintains, is to let them rise up of their own accord and fight for their freedom as many countries have in the post, all on their own. The fact such a thing is pretty much impossible in a world of modern armed military seems to be a bit lost on him.

If you have the patience, do watch all 12 videos of that series I posted above. It's fascinating regardless of what you think about him, but it just leaves me thinking he's really out of his bastard bloody mind and shouldn't be allowed any measure of influence, anywhere.

Galloway was just on Radio 2. The one thing you do have to hand to him is that he is very eloquent, and I can understand how that alone might sway some voters.

His campaign leaflet read 'I, George Halloway have always been respectful of Muslim people and their beliefs, and I, George Galloway have never drunk alcohol', so quite apart from whether you can ascribe a religious aspect to the voting patterns I don't think they can even start to argue that they didn't put a direct plea to win over Muslim voters with an appeal to being Islam friendly wasn't high on the agenda.

Except he probably spelled his own name right on the campaign leaflets. Probably.

I don't like the 'have never drunk alcohol' line. So what? It's a bit 'look, I'm like you, really!' isn't it?

'I, George Galloway, have never eaten a sausage' might as well be the next line.

Haha, I like that Mimi.

I am highly suspicious of the claim he's never drunk alcohol. Never? He's not winning any health points with me, considering he loves smoking cigars and the like.

In my walk into Bradford at lunch, I saw about an even mix of RESPECT and Labour psoters. The labour ones were on the more upmarket houses.

Yes, I am suspicious of that, too, but then again I thought it must be true or he's only ever done it behind very closed doors because otherwise it would have been far too easy for his opposition to have pulled up some disproving pictures, surely?

To the google-a-tron!

A quick Google seems to suggest he decided never to drink alcohol at the age of 18. Oh well, good on him, though I don't see what that has to do with the election other than trying to appeal to a particular demographic by way of noting that it complies with a religious decree.

He's such a political dog I could believe it's entirely for that reason. You don't lose votes by not drinking, but you might gain a few. Meanwhile smoking isn't taboo in any religion. So yeah, probably lung cancer rather than liver disease. Go George!

If nothing else, people like Galloway at least keep politics a bit more interesting.

He is a loony and a potentially dangerous one at that though.

My understanding was that the "Bradford Spring" was how Galloway himself had described his victory earlier.

No idea, possibly? All I know is, the BBC were themselves describing it as such without any caveats, along with all the other stuff I mentioned about their interview of Respect's spokesperson.

He's a lot more famous than his rivals, and probably miles better at public speaking/publicity.

Yeah, that's how Hitler got into power too.

Good to know.

But he's famous for going on Big Brother and dressing up as a cat. Is that what wins you elections now?

That's how Hitler got into power too.

If you can marry that kind of exposure with powerful rhetoric, then apparently so. It's not so much that he's famous for dressing up as a cat than he's just famous. That's the primary currency in this case. Well, being famous and dissing the various sordid wars the country is involved in. His fame merely provides the soapbox, rather than being a method of success in itself.

Boris got elected Mayor on the basis of being funny on HIGNFY.

He's been typically wasteful inept/corrupt in his time as Mayor, but will probably get re-elected as he's good at manipulating the media.

I don't think I agree. I think he's much, much more famous for dressing up as a cat on Big Brother than for his rhetoric regarding the Middle East.

To the people who voted for him, or to someone who lives down south, though?

Well he's not exactly a Bradford local. His previous seats were in Glasgow and London.