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The Respect Party was a
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...
to
far-left Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
active in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
between 2004 and 2016. At the height of its success in 2007, the party had one Member of Parliament (MP) in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
and nineteen councillors in
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
. The Respect Party was established in London by
Salma Yaqoob Salma Yaqoob (born 15 August 1971) is a British political activist and psychotherapist who served as the Leader of the Respect Party from 2005 until 2012, representing the party on Birmingham City Council. She led the Birmingham Stop the War ...
and
George Monbiot George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is an English journalist, author, and Environmental movement, environmental and political activist. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and has written several books. Monbiot ...
. Arising in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, it grew out of the
Stop the War Coalition The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group that campaigns against the United Kingdom's involvement in military conflicts. It was established on 21 September 2001 to campaign against the impe ...
and from the start revolved largely around opposition to the United Kingdom's role in the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
. Uniting a range of leftist and anti-war groups, it was unofficially allied to the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), a far-left,
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
group. In
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
, Respect's candidate
George Galloway George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer. He has been leader of the Workers Party of Britain since he founded it in 2019, and is a former leader of the Respect Party. Until 2003, he was a member ...
was elected MP for
Bethnal Green and Bow Bethnal Green and Bow was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency in Greater London, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2010 until its abolition for the 2024 United Kingdom ...
and the party came second in three other constituencies. Respect made further gains in the
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
and 2007 local elections, at which point its support peaked. In 2007, a schism emerged in the party between SWP supporters and the
Respect Renewal Respect Renewal was a faction that existed during the 2007-8 split within Respect – The Unity Coalition, a UK political party. Respect Renewal was led by Linda Smith, the National Chair, Leader and Nominating Officer of Respect, and was formed ...
group led by Galloway and Yaqoob; the former group left the party to form the Left List. Over the coming years, Respect gradually lost its council seats and it deregistered with the
Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
in 2016. Avowedly socialist and opposed to
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
, Respect called for the nationalisation of much of the UK economy, increased funding to public services, and further measures to tackle poverty and discrimination. It was
Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...
and promoted an
anti-imperialist Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influenc ...
worldview. It was also
anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...
, opposing the existence of Israel and endorsing the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Due to its links with MAB, several commentators claimed that
Islamism Islamism is a range of religious and political ideological movements that believe that Islam should influence political systems. Its proponents believe Islam is innately political, and that Islam as a political system is superior to communism ...
was a component of its ideology and regarded it as part of a wider alliance between socialists and Islamists within
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
. Respect's voting base was primarily among the British Muslim communities in
East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...
,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and
Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
, where it built upon opposition to the Iraq War and disenchantment among leftist voters with the governing Labour Party.


Ideology

The political scientists Matthew Goodwin and Robert Ford characterised Respect as a "broad coalition of left-wing interests" which had arisen in opposition to the
New Labour New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid-late 1990s to 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the ...
government and the UK's involvement in the invasion of Iraq. Other political scientists characterised the party as
far-left Far-left politics, also known as extreme left politics or left-wing extremism, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single, coherent definition; some ...
. The socialist activist
Tariq Ali Tariq Ali (;; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and co ...
characterised the party's programme as being
social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
in orientation. Eran Benedek described the party as "an amalgamation of radical international socialism and Islamism", adding that its radical socialist position was informed by
Marxism–Leninism Marxism–Leninism () is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the History of communism, communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist gov ...
and
Trotskyism Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
. Benedek characterised it as a manifestation of what Amir Taheri called the "Marxist-Islamist coalition", which united around opposition to the United States, a desire to destroy the state of Israel, and a wish to overthrow international capitalism. Similarly, Emmanuel Karagiannis characterised the party as "the epitome" of the "convergence" between radical left and Islamist groups in Western Europe, and
Nick Cohen Nicholas Cohen (born 1961) is a British journalist, author, and political commentator. He was previously a columnist for '' The Observer'' and is currently one for ''The Spectator''. Following accusations of sexual harassment, he left ''The O ...
described it as an "alliance... between the
Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...
far left and the Islamic far right".


Socialism and anti-capitalism

The party's policies have been described as "traditionally leftist and anti-capitalist". Respect encouraged the nationalisation of many sectors of the economy, including the railways, water, gas, electricity, and the
North Sea oil North Sea oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons, comprising liquid petroleum and natural gas, produced from petroleum reservoirs beneath the North Sea. In the petroleum industry, the term "North Sea" often includes areas such as the Norwegian ...
industry. It urged a substantial increase in
corporation tax A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax or corporate income tax, is a type of direct tax levied on the income or capital of corporations and other similar legal entities. The tax is usually imposed at the national level, but i ...
in order to increase funding to public services. It sought to overturn what it described as "anti-trade union" legislation, and to introduce policies to deal with issues of poverty and discrimination. Respect promoted
revolutionary socialism Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revo ...
and
international socialism ''International Socialism'' is a British-based quarterly journal established in 1960 and published in London by the Socialist Workers Party which discusses socialist theory. It is currently edited by Joseph Choonara who replaced Alex Callini ...
. The party was largely hostile to Western
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
and
neoliberalism Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pe ...
, and interpreted many world events through the prism of
anti-imperialism Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is opposition to imperialism or neocolonialism. Anti-imperialist sentiment typically manifests as a political principle in independence struggles against intervention or influen ...
, calling for an end to what it characterised as imperialist wars like that in Iraq. Respect was
anti-globalization The anti-globalization movement, or counter-globalization movement, is a social movement critical of economic globalization. The movement is also commonly referred to as the global justice movement, alter-globalization movement, anti-globalist ...
, believing that it resulted in the exploitation of the working class. It also expressed a
Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...
approach to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, deeming the Union to be lacking in democracy and exploitative toward the working class.


Anti-Zionism

Respect was
anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...
and, according to Benedek, rejected "the right to independent Jewish statehood in Israel". It presented this position through the terminology of
social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
and
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
. One of its core principles was stated support for the
Palestinian people Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous ...
and opposition to what Respect described as "the apartheid system that oppresses them". It was constitutionally committed to supporting the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the boycotting of Israel. It calls for Israel to withdraw from any land conquered in 1967, and for the right of return to be granted to all Palestinians forced to move on the formation of the state of Israel in 1948. On its website and published fliers, it included maps of the
Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
in which the entirety of Israel was labelled "Occupied Palestine". In 2017, the party's website asserts: "Respect supports the idea of a democratic bi-national solution of one state from the
Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...
to the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...
in which all people, Jews, Muslims and Christians live equally; one man, one woman, one vote" and says British foreign policy should recognise Britain's "partial responsibility for the problem by their participation in the creation of the state of Israel". According to the party's national council member Yvonne Ridley, speaking at London's
Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...
in February 2006, Respect "is a Zionist-free party... if there was any Zionism in the Respect Party they would be hunted down and kicked out." The rejection of Israel's right to exist and the characterisation of it as a garrison of
American imperialism U.S. imperialism or American imperialism is the expansion of political, economic, cultural, media, and military influence beyond the boundaries of the United States. Depending on the commentator, it may include imperialism through outright mi ...
in the Middle East had been espoused by the SWP even prior to the establishment of Respect. In February 2013,
George Galloway George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer. He has been leader of the Workers Party of Britain since he founded it in 2019, and is a former leader of the Respect Party. Until 2003, he was a member ...
walked out of a debate organised by
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...
because his opponent was Eylon Levy, an Israeli citizen. He explained his actions thus: "The reason is simple: no recognition, no normalisation. Just boycott, divestment and sanctions, until the apartheid state is defeated. I never debate with Israelis nor speak to their media. If they want to speak about Palestine – the address is the PLO."Warren Murray and Sam Jone
"George Galloway refuses to debate with Israeli student at Oxford"
''The Guardian'', 21 February 2013; retrieved 21 February 2013.
The Zionist Federation called it a "racist" walkout displaying "xenophobic" tendencies. Respect was supportive of anti-Zionist Islamist militant groups like
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
and
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
. In July 2006, Respect official
Lindsey German Lindsey Ann German
''Evening Standard'' (This is London), 14 May 2004
(born 1951) is a ...
stated that "whatever disagreements I have with Hamas and Hezbollah, I would rather be in their camp... they want democracy. Democracy in the Middle East ''is'' Hamas, ''is'' Hezbollah". Galloway met with Hamas leader
Khaled Mashal Khaled Mashal (, ; born 28 May 1956) is a Palestinian politician who served as the second chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from 1996 until May 2017, when he was succeeded by Ismail Haniyeh. He has also covered duties as the acting lea ...
In September 2006, and that November the party's national-secretary John Rees attended the Beirut International Conference organised by Hezbollah.


History


Formation: 2004

Respect emerged from the British anti-war movement which had developed from late 2001 onward. The
Stop the War Coalition The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group that campaigns against the United Kingdom's involvement in military conflicts. It was established on 21 September 2001 to campaign against the impe ...
(StWC) had been established in September 2001, with a central role being played by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), which was then the largest radical left group in the UK. The StWC's president was
Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...
, a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) until 2001, while it also gained the support of several rebel Labour MPs, among them Katy Clark,
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
, Tam Dalyell, Alice Mahon, and George Galloway. The StWC had also attracted significant support from within Britain's Muslim community, and the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) officially affiliated itself with the coalition. The movement politicised a large number of young British Muslims, among them
Salma Yaqoob Salma Yaqoob (born 15 August 1971) is a British political activist and psychotherapist who served as the Leader of the Respect Party from 2005 until 2012, representing the party on Birmingham City Council. She led the Birmingham Stop the War ...
, who became the head of the StWC branch in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. Galloway later revealed that, about a year before the UK and US launched the Iraq War, he had broached the subject of leaving Labour and establishing a new party with his friends Seumas Milne and Andrew Murray. At the time—he later stated—he was of the view that UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
and US President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
had already committed themselves to invading Iraq. Galloway was vocal in his opposition to Blair's calls for an invasion, and in May 2003 he was suspended from the Labour Party and then expelled in October, having been found to have brought it into disrepute. He then announced that he would stand against Labour in the 2004 European Parliament elections, and that he would "seek to unify the red, green, anti-war, Muslim and other social constituencies radicalised by the war, in a referendum on Tony Blair". The two main instigators of the party were Yaqoob and
George Monbiot George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is an English journalist, author, and Environmental movement, environmental and political activist. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and has written several books. Monbiot ...
, a journalist with ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''. They had been part of a discussion surrounding the unification of a broad range of anti-war forces that were to the left of Labour, a successor to the Socialist Alliance electoral list that had contested the 2001 general election. They wanted to reach out beyond the far left's traditional support base and gain support from peace activists and religious groups, particularly the Muslim community. In November 2003, a number of public meetings were held under the title of "British Politics at the Crossroads", at which it was agreed that a new political party should be established. At a convention on 24 January 2004, the party, titled "Respect – the Unity Coalition", was officially declared. The name "RESPECT" was a contrived acronym for
respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or deferential action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also th ...
,
equality Equality generally refers to the fact of being equal, of having the same value. In specific contexts, equality may refer to: Society * Egalitarianism, a trend of thought that favors equality for all people ** Political egalitarianism, in which ...
,
socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
,
peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...
,
environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...
,
community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
, and
trade unionism A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
. Galloway said in April 2004: "Respect. It's a young word. It's a black word. It's the first postmodern name for an electoral political movement; most are one or other arrangement of the words The, Something, and Party. With respect, we're different." Opposition to the Iraq War was the party's primary issue, around which it galvanised much of its support. At its foundation, the party also called for a halt to
privatisation Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
and the renationalisation of the British railways. Although it did not secure the full backing of any major trade unions, some local branches of the
National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (commonly known as the RMT) is a British trade union covering the transport sector. Its current President is George Welch and its current General Secretary is Eddie Dempsey. The RMT ...
(RMT)—which had disaffiliated from Labour in February 2004—voted to support Respect. Although containing members from both the SWP and MAB, Respect was not a formal coalition between the two groups. From the beginnings of Respect, there remained tension within the party between SWP members and Muslim leaders. This alliance was also criticised by some observers; in June 2004, the political commentator
Nick Cohen Nicholas Cohen (born 1961) is a British journalist, author, and political commentator. He was previously a columnist for '' The Observer'' and is currently one for ''The Spectator''. Following accusations of sexual harassment, he left ''The O ...
wrote that "for the first time since the Enlightenment, a section of the left is allied with religious fanaticism and, for the first time since the Hitler-Stalin pact, a section of the left has gone soft on fascism." Respect initially tried to form an electoral pact with the
Green Party of England and Wales The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
but this proved unsuccessful. The Greens stated that they had selected their candidates for the 2004 European Parliamentary elections by postal ballot months previously and that they were also sceptical of the SWP's influence over Respect. After Respect decided to stand candidates against the Greens, Monbiot stepped down from the party in February 2004, claiming that to compete against the Greens might threaten the positions of "two of the best elected representatives in Britain", the Green
Members of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Comm ...
(MEPs)
Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...
and
Jean Lambert Jean Denise Lambert (born Jean Denise Archer; 1 June 1950 in Orsett, Essex) is an English politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament for the London Region between 1999 and 2019. Early life and career She attended Palmer's G ...
.


Early electoral campaigns: 2004–05

Respect fielded candidates for both the 2004 elections for the European Parliament (EP) and for the
London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...
, attempting to present these elections as a referendum on Blair's Labour government. The party claims that this support was achieved primarily as a result of the anti-war protests and by attracting votes from "disillusioned" Labour voters. The party was widely derided in the British media, which viewed Respect as a single-issue party that would soon disappear from British politics. Respect polled a quarter of a million votes in the EP election. Its proportion of the national vote was 1.7%, which grew to 5% in London, although it failed to win any seats. The strong showing of the Greens and the
UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP, ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of parliament (both through defect ...
had been part of the reason for this failure to secure a seat. In the London Assembly election, Respect secured 4.5% of the vote, meaning that they did not secure a seat on the Assembly. However, within both the
London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by ...
and the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and ...
—both areas with large Muslim populations—Respect secured the largest number of votes, with over 20% in both. Respect mocked
Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
's Labour candidacy as the "Blair Mayor Project". Respect's first election victory was in the council by-election for the St Dunstan's and Stepney Green ward of Tower Hamlets, where its candidate, Oliur Rahman, secured 31% of the vote. At the Birmingham Hodge Hill and Leicester South by-elections, both held on 15 July 2004, the party gained 6.3% and 12.7% of the vote respectively. At the time, following defections from other parties, Respect had a council seat in
Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...
and another in Preston. The coalition put up candidates in 26 constituencies across England and Wales, just under half of them from the SWP. However, Britain's
first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
electoral system made it difficult for small parties to make gains unless they geographically concentrated their vote. Respect recognised that East London, an area with large numbers of Muslim
British Bangladeshis British Bangladeshis () are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ancestral roots are from Bangladesh. Bengali Muslims have prominently been migrating to the UK since World War II. Migration reached its peak during the 1970s, with ...
, would be electorally lucrative, particularly as three of the area's four sitting Labour MPs had voted in favour of British participation in the invasion of Iraq. At the 2005 general election Respect fielded candidates in this area: Lindsey German in
West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...
, Abdul Khaliq Mian in
East Ham East Ham is a district of the London Borough of Newham, England, 8 miles (12.8 km) east of Charing Cross. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Essex, East Ham is identified in the London Plan as a ...
, Rahman in Poplar and Canning Town, and Galloway in
Bethnal Green and Bow Bethnal Green and Bow was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency in Greater London, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 2010 until its abolition for the 2024 United Kingdom ...
. Galloway sought to unseat the sitting Labour MP, Oona King, and the ensuing campaign for the seat has been cited as "one of the most acrimonious in recent history". King accused Galloway of sexual impropriety, although was later forced to retract those allegations. She alleged that she had been the victim of
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
from Respect supporters after having been pelted with eggs at a Jewish memorial service. She also claimed that Respect canvassers had urged Muslims not to vote for her because she is Jewish. Respect threatened legal action if King repeated the claim; John Rees, national secretary of Respect, said "George Galloway and everyone in Respect has a long record of fighting anti-semitism - longer I suspect than Oona King. This kind of rubbish is libellous. Oona King should be more cognisant of the dangers, having already paid out two sets of libel writs to George." Respect won 0.3% of the national vote, with an average of 6.8% of the vote in the constituencies it had contested; 17 of its candidates failed to have their deposits returned. However, Galloway won the seat of Bethnal Green and Bow by a narrow margin of 823 votes. Galloway's surprise victory provided much momentum for his party. His victory represented the first time that a party to the left of Labour had won a seat in the Houses of Parliament since 1951. Respect also did well in several other constituencies, coming second to Labour in both West Ham and East Ham, and also securing second place in Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath, where Yaqoob had been its candidate, securing 27.5% of the vote. Respect made "rapid progress", aided by growing finances and the existing campaign experience of the far left. By the end of 2005, in the London Borough of Newham, two Labour and one Liberal Democrat councillor had defected to Respect. By December 2005, it had an official membership of 5,674. Galloway, however, told
Decca Aitkenhead Jessica "Decca" Aitkenhead (born 1971) is an English journalist, writer and broadcaster. Early life and education Aitkenhead's family lived in Wiltshire when she was born; she has three older brothers. Her father was a teacher in Bristol befor ...
in April 2012 for a ''Guardian'' profile that Respect, at its peak, only had about 3–4,000 members. Its university wing, Student Respect, claimed by 2007 to have branches in over fifty campuses across England and Wales. Benedek suggested that this probably made it the fastest-growing student political group in the UK. The SWP's student group, the Socialist Worker Student Society (SWSS), encouraged its members to join Respect and became largely dormant.


Local electoral victories: 2006–07

In 2006, Galloway appeared on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's reality television show ''
Celebrity Big Brother ''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''Big Brother VIP'' is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, t ...
''. His hope was to use it as a public relations exercise in which he could promote his views to a wider audience, however this backfired as Channel 4 producers censored most of his political discussions. Media attention instead focused on the fact that he had seemingly abandoned his constituents to appear in the show and on an episode in which he had impersonated a cat. This did little to damage Respect's electoral appeal. Respect stood about 150 candidates in the 2006 local elections, at which it secured 16 seats. At Respect's campaign launch, Galloway anticipated a "referendum on new Labour", and said the election "will be the last blow that will knock out Tony Blair". In Tower Hamlets, Respect took eleven new council seats, giving it a total of twelve and making it the borough's official opposition to Labour. In Newham, Respect gained 26% of the vote and returned its three councillors, although was disappointed not to gain further ones. In Birmingham, Respect gained 55% of the vote in the Sparkbrook ward, and Yaqoob was elected as the city's first female Muslim councillor. None of the new Respect councillors were connected with the SWP. Galloway explained at the time that many Respect supporters "are small business people and wouldn't describe themselves as socialists and are not bound to accept it." Respect stood 48 candidates in the 2007 local election, of which three were elected. The party had peaked, and following this would witness a decline. In July 2007, Galloway was suspended from the House of Commons for 18 days after the standards and privileges commit accused him of a lack of transparency in the financing of is charity, the Mariam Appeal. In August, a Respect councillor in Tower Hamlets resigned, triggering a by-election which Harun Miah narrowly secured for Respect.


Schism: 2007

The SWP had been members of Respect's "Unity Coalition" since its early years, although relations between them and Galloway had been strained. In August 2007 he wrote a letter to the party's national council stating that Respect had various internal weaknesses, with many deeming this a veiled criticism of the SWP. This generated rifts within the SWP itself as two of its members were expelled for refusing to step down as Galloway's parliamentary assistants. By October, SWP publications were claiming that there was a "witch hunt" against socialists within Respect, despite the presence of socialist groups other than the SWP. That month, disagreements between Rahman and Abjol Miah, leader of the Respect group in Tower Hamlets, resulted in four of the borough's councillors resigning the Respect Party whip. By November 2007, Respect had split into two rival factions. The first consisted largely of members affiliated with the SWP and included the rebel councillors from Tower Hamlets. The second, which named itself
Respect Renewal Respect Renewal was a faction that existed during the 2007-8 split within Respect – The Unity Coalition, a UK political party. Respect Renewal was led by Linda Smith, the National Chair, Leader and Nominating Officer of Respect, and was formed ...
, was led by Galloway and Yaqoob and had the support of virtually all of the party's elected representatives and national council. According to political scientist Timothy Peace, these events were "characteristic of the faction fighting that has always plagued the radical left." The SWP-allied faction controlled the party's website and claimed that Galloway had simply left the party, of which they were the rightful representatives. The Respect Renewal group changed the locks of the party's national office and barred access to SWP supporters. On 17 November, both groups held conferences at which they claimed to be the legitimate manifestation of Respect. The
Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
subsequently ruled that control of the party's name rested with Fire Brigades Union activist Linda Smith, the nominating officer; she had sided with Galloway, meaning that the Respect Renewal group were able to continue using the name. The SWP faction split and began using the name Left List. The SWP attributed the split to a shift to the right by Galloway and his allies, motivated by electoralism (seeking to gain Muslim votes) and attacks on the left.Alex Nunn
"Car crash on the left"
''Red Pepper'', December 2007.
This opinion was shared by Hilary Wainwright, who saw a common pattern of "leaderism" in this and other leftist debacles, although she thought Galloway possessed positive qualities. SWP-dominated branches of Respect were reportedly less active than those with far fewer members of that group. A narrow failure of John Rees in 2006 to gain election in the Tower Hamlets local elections, while the 12 candidates from the Bangladeshi community were all elected, was also alleged to have alienated the SWP from the project. In December 2009, the party de-registered (removed) itself from the Register of Political Parties for Northern Ireland, but remained registered for England, Scotland and Wales.


Decline: 2008–2011

Respect went into gradual decline after 2008. By this point its primary unifying issue, anger at Labour over the Iraq War, had become less salient, with the political scientist Stephen Driver suggesting that for this reason Respect "struggled to be anything more than a one-trick pony". The party was in disarray following the schism and only forwarded one candidate for the 2008 London Assembly elections. This candidate, Hanif Abdulmuhit, stood for the City and East constituency and secured 15% of the vote but trailed behind their Labour and Conservative Party rivals. Overall Respect attained 2.4% of the London Assembly vote, below the 5% threshold needed to secure a seat. Galloway had headed the Respect (London-wide) top-up list. Respect had not fielded a candidate for London Mayor, instead endorsing Labour's
Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English former politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was Local Government Act 1985, abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of Londo ...
, while Left List had fielded German, who secured significantly fewer votes than she had gained as a Respect candidate for Mayor in 2004. The outbreak of the
2008 Gaza War 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. Etymology English ''eight'', from Old English '', æhta'', Proto-Germanic ''*ahto'' is a direct continuation of Proto-Indo-European numerals, Proto-Indo-European '':wikt:Append ...
provided renewed impetus for Respect's campaigning. Throughout much of 2009, the party devoted much of its resources to raising funds for the Viva Palestina aid convoy to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
. The first convoy, which set off from
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
in February 2009, was led by Respect member
Kevin Ovenden Kevin Ovenden (born 1968) is a British, left-wing, political activist who was a member of the Respect Party's leadership. He is an organiser of Viva Palestina. Biography Ovenden was for many years a leading member of the Socialist Workers Pa ...
. Respect Renewal stood 10 candidates in the local council elections also taking place on 1 May across England and Wales. They returned one new councillor, Nahim Khan, in Birmingham Sparkbrook, who received 42.64% of the vote. The party did not field any candidates for the 2009 European Parliament elections, instead urging supporters to vote for either the Green Party or the left-wing Eurosceptic alliance, No2EU. Instead,
Arthur Scargill Arthur Scargill (born 11 January 1938) is a British trade unionist who was President of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) from 1982 to 2002. He is best known for leading the 1984–1985 UK miners' strike, a major event in the history o ...
's Socialist Labour Party proved to be the most successful radical left party in the election, securing 1.1% of the national vote. Respect fielded ten candidates in the 2010 general election, with a particular focus on three that they considered winnable. The party's manifesto highlighted that a
hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system (typically employing Majoritarian representation, majoritarian electoral systems) to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing ...
would be likely, and that if there were three Respect MPs in the House of Commons then they would have a chance of forming a coalition with a minority government. Their three targeted seats were Birmingham Hall Green, which was being contested by Yaqoob—who was then party leader—
Poplar and Limehouse Poplar and Limehouse is a List of United Kingdom Parliament constituencies, constituency which was first created in 2010. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Ki ...
, which was contested by Galloway, and Galloway's existing seat of Bethnal Green and Bow, which was being defended by Miah. The election however proved disastrous for Respect. Labour secured all three of the seats that Respect had targeted, with Galloway and Miah being pushed into third place with 17% of the vote. Nationwide it had secured 33,251 votes, less than half of that which it had attained in the 2005 general election. Local elections were held on the same day which also resulted in significant losses for Respect; in Tower Hamlets it went from having eight councillors to one, and in Newham it lost all its councillors. However the party had better results elsewhere. In Birmingham Hall Green constituency Respect candidate
Salma Yaqoob Salma Yaqoob (born 15 August 1971) is a British political activist and psychotherapist who served as the Leader of the Respect Party from 2005 until 2012, representing the party on Birmingham City Council. She led the Birmingham Stop the War ...
performed better, receiving 12,240 votes, 25.1%, placing second after Labour candidate Roger Godsiff, who received 16,039 votes, 32.9%. Respect fielded eight more candidates in other constituencies, who together polled 4,319 votes. Arshad Ali received 1,245 votes, 3.1%, in Bradford West, and Kay Phillips received 996 votes, 2.9%, in Blackley and Broughton. In total, Respect candidates received 33,269 votes, which amounted to 6.8% of the total vote in the constituencies where they stood and 0.1% of the total UK vote. During the 2010 General Election the Green Party stood down in favour of Respect candidates in Birmingham Sparkbrook and Blackley and Broughton. While Respect agreed not to stand against the
Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...
candidate in Salford and Eccles or to oppose the Greens standing in Manchester Central, indicating the beginning of a tentative co-operation between the three parties locally . Galloway told Decca Aitkenhead in April 2012: "When we lost the three parliamentary seats in 2010 that we'd hoped to win, we became almost minuscule"; Respect he said then had about 8-900 members. Abjol Miah was elected as the National Chair of Respect in January 2011. After the introduction of a
directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets The mayor of Tower Hamlets is the directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets London Borough Council in east London, England. The first election for this position occurred on 21 October 2010, taking on the executive function of the borough counci ...
—something that Respect had campaigned for locally—the party backed the successful independent candidate Lutfur Rahman. On 5 May 2011, in the
2011 Scottish Parliament election The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional M ...
, the Respect Party, on whose list Galloway stood in the Glasgow electoral region, received 6,972 votes (3.3%). He campaigned under the banner of Coalition Against the Cuts, but the vote was insufficient to become a
Member of the Scottish Parliament Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...
in the proportional voting system used. In the Birmingham City Council election of 2011, Respect lost one of its three councillors to Labour. In July, Yaqoob then resigned for health reasons, leaving the party with only one councillor in the city.


2012: Galloway wins Bradford West by-election

Galloway successfully contested Bradford West in a
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
held on 29 March 2012, following the resignation of Labour MP Marsha Singh due to ill health. Galloway and his supporters, such as the Muslim Public Affairs Committee (MPACUK), were active in a campaign against Imran Hussain, the Muslim deputy leader of Bradford City Council, whose commitment to his faith was queried because he is reported to drink alcohol. Meanwhile, one of Galloway's supporting speakers at a rally on the Sunday before the byelection was Abjol Miah, once group leader of the Respect councillors in Tower Hamlets, who is also active in the IFE.Andrew Gilliga
"Fundamentalist liar loses another complaint against us"
, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 12 October 2010
Galloway was elected with a majority of 10,140 with one of the largest swings in the polls against the defending political party in modern political history.


2012: party resignations

Yaqoob resigned as party leader in September, following Galloway's remarks about rape with respect to the
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...
case. She told a reporter from ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' that she had had to make a choice between "standing up for the rights of women" and her admiration for Galloway's "anti-imperialist stance". In October 2012, party secretary Chris Chilvers said Respect had 2,000 members, while before the by-election it had 300.Helen Pid
"George Galloway: is Bradford losing respect for its maverick MP?"
''The Guardian'', 14 October 2012
Arshad Ali, who succeeded Yaqoob as leader, resigned as national chair in December 2012 after it was discovered that he has a spent conviction for electoral fraud (dating from his time in the Labour Party), although at this point the Electoral Commission still had Yaqoob listed as the party's leader.
Kate Hudson Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Born to singer Bill Hudson (singer), Bill Hudson and actress Goldie Hawn, Hudson made her film debut in the 1998 drama ''Desert Blue'', which was followed by supporting ...
had originally been selected for the Manchester Central by-election, but stood down in early September following Galloway's comments on rape, and left the party in October. In the same month, Respect announced that Catherine Higgins, a local "community advocate", would contest the by-election on 15 November 2012. Higgins finished ninth out of 12 candidates. In November 2012, at a rally in Rotherham, Respect announced that Yvonne Ridley had been chosen to contend the Rotherham by-election. The election took place on 29 November 2012; Ridley finished fourth with 8% of the vote, ahead of both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates, but behind UKIP and the BNP.


2012–15: Respect's Bradford councillors

Respect won five seats on
Bradford Council City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council is the Local government in England, local authority of the City of Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. Bradford has had an elected council since 1847, which has been reformed on several occasions. ...
in May 2012 following Galloway's success in the by-election at the end of March. Amid a fiercely fought campaign, there were claims and complaints of violence and harassment by the Respect Party and its opponents. The party came second in
Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...
's Werneth ward and Tower Hamlets' Weavers ward. After several months of inconclusive reports in the media, on 10 August 2013, the Bradford ''
Telegraph & Argus The ''Telegraph & Argus'' is the daily newspaper for Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is published six times each week, from Monday to Saturday inclusive. The newspaper has offices in Newhall Way, Bradford, from where its journalists work ...
'' reported that Galloway might not be a candidate in Bradford at the 2015 general election and instead stand in the
2016 London Mayoral election The 2016 London mayoral election was held on 5 May 2016 to elect the Mayor of London, on the same day as the 2016 London Assembly election, London Assembly election. It was the fifth election to the position of mayor, which was created in 2000 ...
.Dolores Cowbur
"George Galloway: 'I could stand for Mayor of London'"
''Telegraph & Argus'', 10 August 2013
The five Respect councillors in Bradford elected the previous year resigned from the party whip on 15 August 2013"Bradford councillors resign from Respect party"
BBC News, 15 August 2013
after coming into conflict with Galloway over his comments that he might run in the London mayoral election. They argued that the MP was needed in Bradford. Two of the councillors had said the MP should resign if he intended to stand in London; Galloway and his associates had immediately suspended them, although their three fellow council members were in agreement.Helen Pid
"George Galloway urged to resign as MP if he wants to be London mayor"
''The Guardian'', 13 August 2013.
One of the other three councillors, Alyas Karmani, then leader of the Respect group on Bradford City Council, said the party had not, in fact, been consulted about Galloway's plans. Galloway had also claimed that the councillors were working against him and the party with Aisha Ali Khan, his former aide, and her husband. (Both Ali Khan and her husband later received criminal convictions related to her former employment by Galloway.) After no retraction of the assertions made against them had been forthcoming,Andrew Robinso
"No respect as Bradford councillors quit Galloway’s party"
''Yorkshire Post'', 25 October 2013.
the five councillors entirely severed their connections with Respect towards the end of October and then intended to sit as independents for the remainder of their term of office. Claims that they had been "conniving" with Galloway's former aide were false, they said. A spokesman from Respect accused them of attempting to gain control of the party in Bradford. In the 2014 local elections, Respect stood eight candidates in Bradford, but none of them won in their council wards. Two other Respect councillors lost their seats, leaving Respect without any representation on local authorities. In 2014, the party had only 630 members and assets of £1,947. By that point, the party was largely a vehicle for Galloway's personality. This changed in March 2015 when four of the former Respect councillors rejoined and a Labour member of the council, Asama Javed, left the party and aligned herself with Respect. The remaining councillor of the five who resigned in August 2013, Mohammad Shabbir, announced he was joining the Labour group on the council in mid-April 2015 with immediate effect rather than rejoining Respect with his former colleagues. In July 2015, the four councillors who had rejoined reversed their decision and decided to continue under the Bradford Independent Group label, although rejoining Respect was still a possibility.


2015–16: general election and de-registration

At the 2015 general election, Respect had four candidates, in Halifax and two Birmingham seats (
Hall Green Hall Green is an area in southeast Birmingham, England, synonymous with the B28 postcode. It is also a council constituency of Birmingham City Council, managed by its own district committee. Historic counties of England, Historically it lay wit ...
and Yardley) in addition to Bradford West. Where Respect was not standing in the election, Galloway had urged a vote for Labour in 2013, having met and been impressed with then Labour leader
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
. None of the Respect candidates were elected. In George Galloway's own seat, the 10,000 majority he had gained at the 2012 Bradford West by-election was reversed, and the Labour Party candidate
Naz Shah Naseem Shah (; born 13 November 1973) is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford West since 2015. She served in the Opposition frontbench from 2018 to 2023, most recently as Shadow Minister for Cr ...
became the constituency's MP with a majority of 11,420 votes. In December 2015, it became known that former Respect Party leader
Salma Yaqoob Salma Yaqoob (born 15 August 1971) is a British political activist and psychotherapist who served as the Leader of the Respect Party from 2005 until 2012, representing the party on Birmingham City Council. She led the Birmingham Stop the War ...
had applied to join the Labour Party in Hall Green following
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
's election as leader. Her application was rejected by her local constituency Labour Party owing to her standing against Labour candidates. Robert Colvile reported in ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
'' at the beginning of January 2016: Following his defeat in the 2015 general election, Galloway announced that he would stand as Respect's candidate in the
2016 London mayoral election The 2016 London mayoral election was held on 5 May 2016 to elect the Mayor of London, on the same day as the 2016 London Assembly election, London Assembly election. It was the fifth election to the position of mayor, which was created in 2000 ...
. During hustings, he praised newly elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, but condemned Labour Mayoral candidate
Sadiq Khan Sir Sadiq Aman Khan (, ; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting (UK Parliament constituency), Tooting ...
as a "flip-flop merchant" and a "product of the Blairite machine". In the final result of the London Mayoral election held on 5 May 2016, Galloway came seventh with 37,007 (1.4%) first preference votes. After second preference were accounted for, Sadiq Khan became London mayor. Respect failed to hold any of their seats in Bradford in the 2016 local elections, leaving them without any representation at any level of government. The Respect Party "voluntarily deregistered" from the
Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
's Register of Political Parties on 18 August 2016, twelve years after it initially registered.


Support


Voter base

Since its formation, Respect has presented itself as being "genuinely left" and has sought to appeal to leftist voters dissatisfied with the Labour Party's shift to the centre under the leadership of Blair and
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
. There has however been little electoral support for parties to the left of Labour in Britain (with some exceptions to the Liberal Democrats, who during the
New Labour New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid-late 1990s to 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the ...
era broadly positioned themselves to the left), with the party having to seek out an alternative voting base. The primary electoral support for Respect came from the British Muslim community. Traditionally, British Muslims voted for the Labour Party, but many had been disenchanted following the Labour government's decision to invade Iraq. Respect appealed in particular to British Muslims who had been disenchanted by the war. According to Emmanuel Karagiannis, "now that the old working class has assimilated into an expanded middle class, the radical Left is obviously looking for a new constituency, and Europe's deprived and alienated Muslim communities may well be the answer." The political scientist Stephen Driver suggested that this over-reliance on dissatisfied Muslim voters left its electoral base "fragile", for when "the source of the protest disappears, so do the protest votes". At no point did Respect position itself as a specifically Muslim party akin to the Islamic Party of Britain or the Muslim Party in Birmingham, however from its beginnings it did specifically target Muslims with its campaign material, characterising itself as "the party for Muslims" and focusing on issues of particular concern to British Muslim communities. A local election flyer printed in 2004 featured the slogan "George Galloway – Fighting for Muslim Rights!" It often fielded Muslim candidates to stand in largely Muslim areas, although this was not unusual in British politics, with Labour, the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats often doing the same. Respect's main electoral support base was in East London and Birmingham. However, there were other areas of Britain with large Islamic communities—such as
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
, and
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
—where the party did not do well. Peace suggested that Respect had been successful in East London and Birmingham and not other areas with Muslim communities because these two areas had established anti-war movements and that Respect candidates had already become well known within that movement. It has also been suggested that Respect's connection to religious groups and
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
s has been crucial to the party's success in many areas. It attracted some controversy for allegedly being tied to the Islamic Forum of Europe (IFE), a group based at the
East London Mosque The East London Mosque (ELM) is situated in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets between Whitechapel and Aldgate East. Combined with the adjoining London Muslim Centre and Maryam Centre, it is one of the largest mosques in Western Europe accomm ...
in Tower Hamlets. Both ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
'' and '' Dispatches'' have alleged that Respect activist Miah is an IFE member, although he has denied this.Andrew Gilliga
"'Britain's Islamic republic': full transcript of Channel 4 Dispatches programme on Lutfur Rahman, the IFE and Tower Hamlets"
, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 22 October 2010.


Reception

Respect received little attention from scholars of politics. This may be due to the perception that it was a single-issue party that provided a protest vote among a particular community. As with the Greens, Respect was recognised as having radical views but was nonetheless widely regarded as a legitimate part of politics in the UK. In this it contrasted with the pariah status accorded to contemporary far-right groups such as the
British National Party The British National Party (BNP) is a Far-right politics, far-right, British fascism, fascist list of political parties in the United Kingdom, political party in the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Wigton, Cumbria, and is led by Adam ...
(BNP). In just over two years, it had gained the electoral success that the BNP had taken twenty years to attain. Respect was controversial within Britain's far-left movement. Far-left criticisms of the party included that it was engaging in political opportunism, that it invited the
petty bourgeoisie ''Petite bourgeoisie'' (, ; also anglicised as petty bourgeoisie) is a term that refers to a social class composed of small business owners, shopkeepers, small-scale merchants, semi-autonomous peasants, and artisans. They are named as such ...
into the socialist workers' movement, and that it focused on the narrow sectarian interests of British Muslims rather than the socio-economic issues of the working-class and in doing so neglected feminism and LGBT rights. According to ''
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...
'' journalist Dave Hill, Respect was "a case study in the British far left's enduring gift for self-parodic, self-destructive splits".


Criticisms of Respect


Equality

Respect has been accused of abandoning some traditional
cultural liberal Cultural liberalism is a social philosophy which expresses the social dimension of liberalism and advocates the freedom of individuals to choose whether to conform to cultural norms. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, it is often expressed a ...
issues, including women's rights, abortion,
gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...
, and fighting
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...
, to attract Muslim support. While Respect included opposition to discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation in its founding declaration, critics claim that Galloway – during the time he was a Respect MP – tended to avoid parliamentary votes involving equal rights for gay people. In a 2006 interview with ''
PinkNews ''PinkNews'' is a UK-based online newspaper marketed to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning community (LGBTQ+) in the UK and worldwide. It was founded by Benjamin Cohen in July 2005, initially released in print, b ...
'', Galloway praised New Labour's record on improving gay rights, and says of his absence from one vote that "there was never any doubt about the passage of the
civil partnerships A civil union (also known as a Civil partnership in the United Kingdom, civil partnership) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, primarily created to provide legal recognition for Same-sex relationship, same-sex couples. Civi ...
ill I wholly support it". According to a resolution at that year's conference, Respect's 2005 manifesto omitted the "defence of LGBT rights despite policy adopted at last year's AGM and contained in the founding statement". A resolution was passed calling for the end to all discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
people and that this policy would be stated in all of its manifestos and principal election materials. Despite this commitment, Respect and parts of the
LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
community have clashed on several occasions. In November 2005, Respect's second largest single financial donor, Mohammad Naseem, was accused in an article by
Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is an Australian-born British human rights campaigner, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party's Parliament of the United Kingdo ...
of being homophobic due to his senior position in the Islamic Party of Britain, which Tatchell claimed advocated the "banning of gay organisations" and the "execution of homosexuals". Naseem, however, stated that the Islamic Party was now little more than a thinktank, and furthermore, disagreed with the statements on the Islamic Party website which Tatchell pointed to, stating his views on homosexuality as follows: "These things are a matter of personal choice ..I am not concerned with what people do in their bedrooms." Naseem was also present at Respect's 2005 conference, where the vote to reaffirm Respect's support of LGBT rights was passed unanimously. In January 2006, an article attacking Tatchell's opposition to the party was written by Respect member and journalist Adam Yosef. Writing for '' Desi Xpress'', Yosef accused Tatchell of
Islamophobia Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...
but was attacked by gay organisations for "encouraging violence against Tatchell" and for using "xenophobic" and "homophobic" language. Yosef also used other articles to attack same-sex unions, describing them as a front for "
tax fraud Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trust (property), trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax au ...
". Tatchell called on Respect to expel Yosef but the party responded with the following statement: "Adam Yosef has the right to voice his own opinions in his own column – they range from an ecstatic review of Birmingham's gay pride to venting his thoughts about Peter Tatchell." However, in October 2009, Yosef pledged his formal support to Tatchell's 2010 general election parliamentary candidacy, calling for the left to "embrace a mutual personal and political commitment towards equality and human rights".


Antisemitism

Abul Hussain, a former member of Respect's national council, posted antisemitic comments on Facebook and was expelled for his comments in September 2010. The councillor joked about chopping off a Jewish person's sidelocks and confiscating their
kippah A (plural: ''kippot''), , or is a brimless Jewish cap, skullcap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that the Head covering, head be covered. It is the most common type of head-coverin ...
. He also wrote about Jews, "Here's a penny go put it in the bank and oujust might get a pound after ten years interest!". The Respect Party stated that "such views are demonstrably incompatible with party membership". In 2011 Carole Swords, of Bow, the chairwoman of the Respect Party in Tower Hamlets, was convicted of a public order offence after an altercation with a Jewish counter-protester, Harvey Garfield, at a protest inside a Covent Garden Tesco Metro supermarket. She was alleged to have struck him in the face, smacking off his eyeglasses, while he was protecting Israeli goods from potentially being damaged.Marcus Dysc
"Tower Hamlets Respect chair guilty of assault at Tesco demo"
''The Jewish Chronicle'', 2 February 2012
A subsequent appeal in December cleared her of the offence. Swords' defence team claimed Garfield had harassed and intimidated Swords inside the supermarket, and alleging he had called her a "Nazi", a "fishwife" and a "terrorist". The recorder determined that Garfield had followed Swords inside the Tesco and that she had demanded he desist. The recorder could not determine how Garfield's glasses had fallen based on the store footage, and allowed the appeal. Swords had earlier described Zionists as "cockroaches ... bugs
hich Ij () is a village in Golabar Rural District of the Central District in Ijrud County, Zanjan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq ...
need to be stomped out" and at a different rally, Swords had told a Jewish protester to "go back to Russia". Following Naz Kahn's appointment as Respect's women's officer in Bradford in October 2012, it emerged that Kahn had recently commented on Facebook that "history teachers in our school" were and are "the first to start brainwashing us and our children into thinking the bad guy was Hitler. What have the Jews done good in this world??"Jennifer Lipma
"Respect activist: was Hitler the bad guy?"
''The Jewish Chronicle'', 25 October 2012. When she re-emerged in 2017, Naz Kahn was known as Nasreen Khan, see
David Aaronovitch in ''
The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...
'' wrote: What have the Jews done good in this world?' clearly means 'The Jews do only bad'. The Jews haven't suffered as much as they say they have, but insofar as they have suffered it's their own fault and, in any case, they have gone on to inflict equal or more suffering on others. That's 'the Jews' as a group, not 'many Jews', 'some Jews' or 'a few Jews'." Ron McKay, Galloway's spokesman, said Kahn's comments had been written shortly before she joined Respect, on an "unofficial site" (the Respect Bradford Facebook page), and that she "now deeply regrets and repudiates that posting". The last formal leader of Respect, George Galloway, has been accused by ''Guardian'' journalist Hadley Freeman of having "said and done things that cross the line from anti-Israel to antisemitic". He threatened to sue her for the comments made on Twitter in February 2015, although the tweet had already been deleted. Her tweet followed the ''Question Time'' George Galloway in Finchley controversy, an edition of the BBC's political debate series on which Freeman's ''Guardian'' colleague Jonathan Freedland had also appeared and made similar assertions about Galloway's conduct. Galloway's support for Hizbollah and
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
, his refusal to debate with Israeli Jews, and his declaration of Bradford as being an "Israeli-free zone" are among the issues which have led to the attitudes of the politician being thought suspect.


See also

* Respect Party election results *
Workers Party of Britain The Workers Party of Britain (WPB), also called the Workers Party of Great Britain (WPGB) or Workers Party GB, is a Socialism, socialist and Social conservatism, socially conservative political party in the United Kingdom, strongly identified ...


References


Sources

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Further reading

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External links

Respect publications
''Peace Justice Equality: the Respect manifesto for the May 2005 election'' 727 KB PDF document
Retrieved 5 May 2005.
''Where now for Respect?'' 435 KB PDF document
John Rees, Respect National Secretary. 22 June 2004. Archived fro
the original
on 4 December 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2005. {{Authority control Anti-austerity political parties in the United Kingdom Anti-Zionism in the United Kingdom Defunct political parties in the United Kingdom Political parties established in 2004 Political parties disestablished in 2016 2004 establishments in the United Kingdom 2016 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Far-left political parties in the United Kingdom Eurosceptic parties in the United Kingdom