Galloway's open letter to Jim Fitzpatrick

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Open letter from George Galloway MP to Jim Fitzpatrick MP

Dear Jim,

I am writing to ask you to support my call for an immediate general election. Parliament is facing the greatest constitutional crisis in living memory with anger amongst the electorate towards MPs unprecedented. I believe the argument is overwhelming that only a general election, allowing the voters to cast their verdict and choose new representatives, can begin the process of restoring parliament’s reputation.

In this general election I will be standing against you in the new constituency of Poplar and Limehouse. We will be two Scotsmen fighting it out. I will be standing in the tradition of the Labour pioneer, James Keir Hardie. You are in the tradition of Ramsay MacDonald, the betrayer of the Labour movement. The voters will have a clear choice on the important issues of the day.

On the expenses scandal, you voted against making MPs’ allowances and expenses fully transparent and disgracefully you supported legal attempts by the Speaker to keep allowances secret, whereas I voted for full transparency and dissociated myself from any attempt to conceal the truth.

On the constitution, you oppose any attempt to bring in voting reform, whereas I have always supported a fully elected parliament and the abolition of the House of Lords, on which I must say your New Labour colleague, Baroness Uddin has made this demand all the more irresistible. I want fixed terms for parliament, a reduction in the size of the Commons and, above all, the introduction of a fair voting system.

On international policy, you voted for and strongly supported the disastrous war on Iraq and you continue to support the war in Afghanistan. I not only voted against the war on Iraq, I was one of the strongest voices in this country and beyond saying this war was based on a Bush and Blair hoax and would have catastrophic results. I am for the immediate withdrawal from Afghanistan where already too many British soldiers have died in vain whilst you demand more and more death.

On domestic policy, you supported the closure of post offices and support privatisation of Royal Mail and the building of a third runway at Heathrow. I opposed the closure of post offices and am opposed to both the third runway and the privatisation of Royal Mail.

More than this, you have been a minister in the government that has presided over the deregulation of the robbing banks and the privatisation of public services which has brought the economy to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. I, on the other hand, have always opposed deregulation and privatisation and supported public service for need rather than profit. And I will fight against any attempts by you to make ordinary working people pay for this crisis through cuts in public services.

You must know that the majority of voters now want a general election. Gordon Brown is only denying the electorate because he knows he will lose. Once again this will be seen as a cynical self-serving manoeuvre. I hope you will break ranks and agree to support an immediate general election. This parliament, in which your party clings to power by its bitten finger nails, is finished. Let’s give the voters a clear choice here in Tower Hamlets and across Britain.

Yours ever,

George Galloway MP


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[seshme]

[seshme]

It's a really interesting seat.

George must be thinking the expenses scandal + 33% Muslims + blaming Fitzpatrick for the Post Office will get him in.

He's obviously an extremely shrewd operator but I wonder if he's underestimated the chance that the Tories will sneak in.

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yes, because we all know that Muslims are all just one entity and vote the same.

[modern]

I'd like to see seshme stand against him...that would be a laugh

[seshme]

[faceless]

what is?

Are you seriously suggesting that all Muslims vote the same way?

[seshme]

I'm seriously suggesting that George would not attempt to fight a seat that didn't have a large Muslim population because of his popularity in that demographic.

He has no history with this constituency just like he didn't at the last one. He's cherry picking rather than defending his current seat just like he didn't try to fight for a seat in Glasgow after the boundary change.

[faceless]

What's wrong with entering races you think you might win? The overwhelming majority of other candidates in every constituency are picked by their local party organisations because they fit with the views of the electorate. You wouldn't get an Eton toff tory standing in Liverpool, would you?

And why should he follow your narrow belief in what is the correct behaviour anyway?

[seshme]

My belief is not narrow and I never said it was incorrect behavior I'm just pointing out the fun of the nonsense politicians come away with. In George's letter he says that Brown is being cynical about elections.

Top Muslim populations out of the 650 seats in parliament.

Birmingham Sparkbrook Small Heath 49%
Bethnal Green and Bow 39%
Bradford West 38%
Poplar and Limehouse 33%
East Ham 30%
Birmingham Ladywood 29%
Blackburn 26%
Poplar/Canning Tow 25%
West Ham 24%
Bradford North 21%
Ilford South 20%

[faceless]

So why doesn't he try in Birmingham if that's the case? He'd, by your logic, be almost certain to win there.

For your theory that Muslims all vote the same way to have any credibility you'd have to show the percentages of how they voted. As far as I remember the majority of Muslim voters in Bethnal Green didn't vote for Galloway.

[seshme]

[faceless]

So, you're basically saying that the people who elect him do so for their own reasons and that Galloway has made educated choices about how and when to stand?

Everyone has the responsibility to develop their views over time - changing your mind on an issue isn't something to be condemned.

Roy Jenkins had almost no connection to the electorate of Hillhead - he was basically airdropped in, but represented a protest vote against Labour and the Tories. He was my MP and I think I saw him once in public. I don't even remember ever seeing his constituency office.

[seshme]

You have to admit it's unusual for a sitting MP to try to change constituency.

Why do you think he's doing that? Has he given any reason yet?

[faceless]

Dynamic common sense?

You seem to think that he should behave exactly as any other MP would.

Anyway, isn't Bethnal Green being dissolved or changed this time round?