George Galloway Biography
George Galloway is a controversial figure in British politics, who has been involved in various causes and movements throughout his career. He was born in 1954 in Dundee, Scotland, and joined the Labour Party at the age of 13. He became a trade union activist and a local councillor, before being elected to Parliament in 1987 for Glasgow Hillhead.
Galloway was a vocal critic of the policies of Tony Blair, especially the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He was expelled from the Labour Party for his anti-war stance, and founded the Respect Party, which aimed to represent the interests of the Muslim and working-class communities. He won several seats in Parliament and local councils, and also participated in various international campaigns, such as the Viva Palestina convoy to Gaza and the Iranian-backed Press TV.
Galloway is currently the leader of the Workers Party of Britain, a socialist and anti-imperialist party that he launched in 2019. He is also a broadcaster and a writer, hosting a weekly show on RT and a podcast on Patreon. He has written several books, including memoirs, political essays, and novels.
George Galloway Age
George Galloway is 69 years old as of 2024.
George Galloway Early Life and Education
George Galloway was born on 16 August 1954 in Dundee, Scotland, to a working-class family of Irish descent. His father was a factory worker and a trade unionist, and his mother was a housewife. He was the eldest of four children, and grew up in a tenement flat in the Lochee district of the city. He attended St Mary’s Forebank Primary School and St Michael’s Secondary School, where he excelled in English and history.
Galloway developed an interest in politics from an early age, influenced by his father’s involvement in the Labour movement and his own experiences of poverty and social injustice. He joined the Labour Party at the age of 13, and became an active member of the Young Socialists, the party’s youth wing. He also joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and participated in anti-war demonstrations.
Galloway left school at the age of 16, without any formal qualifications, and started working as a trainee journalist for the Dundee Evening Telegraph.
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George Galloway Career
George Galloway entered Parliament in 1987 as the Labour MP for Glasgow Hillhead, and soon became a prominent voice on the left wing of the party. He was a member of the Campaign Group, a faction of socialist MPs who opposed the leadership of Neil Kinnock and later Tony Blair. He was also a vocal supporter of various international causes, such as the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the Irish republican movement, and the Palestinian struggle. He was a founding member of the Stop the War Coalition, which organized mass protests against the Gulf War, the Kosovo War, and the War on Terror.
Galloway’s career took a dramatic turn in 2003, when he was expelled from the Labour Party for his outspoken opposition to the invasion of Iraq. He accused Blair and George W. Bush of lying about the existence of weapons of mass destruction, and of committing war crimes against the Iraqi people. He also called for British troops to disobey orders and to refuse to fight in an illegal war. He was one of the few MPs who visited Iraq before and during the war, and met with Saddam Hussein and other Iraqi officials. He also faced allegations of receiving money from the Iraqi regime through the oil-for-food program, which he denied and later cleared his name in court.
Galloway did not give up on politics, and in 2004, he founded the Respect Party, a left-wing, anti-war, and multicultural party that aimed to represent the interests of the Muslim and working-class communities. He ran as the Respect candidate for Bethnal Green and Bow, a constituency in East London with a large Bangladeshi population. He defeated the Labour incumbent Oona King, who had supported the Iraq War, by a margin of 823 votes. He became the only Respect MP in Parliament, and the leader of the party. He also became a celebrity, appearing on various TV shows, such as Celebrity Big Brother, Have I Got News for You, and Question Time.
Galloway continued his political activism, both at home and abroad. He was a vocal critic of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and participated in several humanitarian convoys to Gaza, under the banner of Viva Palestina. He also supported the Iranian-backed Press TV, and hosted a weekly show called Comment, where he expressed his views on various issues. He also supported the Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, and the Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, and visited both countries several times. He also opposed the NATO intervention in Libya, and the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. He was a staunch defender of the rights of minorities, women, and LGBT people, and campaigned against racism, Islamophobia, and homophobia.
Galloway lost his seat in Parliament in 2015, when he was defeated by the Labour candidate Naz Shah, who had accused him of neglecting his constituency and of spreading lies and hatred. He also failed to win the London mayoral election in 2016, where he came seventh with 1.4% of the vote. He left the Respect Party, and launched a new party called the Workers Party of Britain, a socialist and anti-imperialist party that he claimed was the true successor of the Labour Party. He also continued his broadcasting and writing career, hosting a weekly show on RT called Sputnik, and a podcast on Patreon called Moats. He also wrote several books, including memoirs, political essays, and novels.
Galloway made a political comeback in 2024, when he won the Rochdale seat in a by-election, following the resignation of the Labour MP Tony Lloyd, who had been appointed as the governor of the Bank of England. He ran as the Workers Party candidate, and defeated the Labour candidate Faisal Rana, by a margin of 2,061 votes. He became the only Workers Party MP in Parliament, and the leader of the party. He vowed to fight for the interests of the working class, and to oppose the Tory government’s policies on Brexit, immigration, and the NHS. He also pledged to support the Scottish independence movement, and to campaign for a referendum on the reunification of Ireland.
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George Galloway Controversies and Scandals
George Galloway is no stranger to controversies, as he has been involved in several scandals and disputes throughout his political career. Here are some of the most notable ones:
In 1994, he met with Saddam Hussein in Baghdad and praised him for his courage and strength, which drew criticism from many who accused him of supporting a brutal dictator. He later claimed that his words were mistranslated and taken out of context.
In 2003, he was expelled from the Labour Party for his opposition to the Iraq War, and faced allegations of receiving money from the Iraqi regime through the oil-for-food program. He denied any wrongdoing and sued the Daily Telegraph for libel, winning £150,000 in damages. He also testified before a US Senate committee, where he fiercely defended himself and accused the US of war crimes.
In 2006, he appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, where he performed a series of bizarre and embarrassing tasks, such as pretending to be a cat and wearing a red leotard. He was widely ridiculed and condemned for neglecting his duties as an MP and for trivializing his political causes. He later said that he did it to raise money for charity and to reach a wider audience.
In 2012, he faced criticism for his comments on rape, after he suggested that the allegations against Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, were not rape but merely bad sexual etiquette. He also faced allegations of electoral fraud, after he won the Bradford West seat in a by-election, by a landslide of 10,140 votes. He denied any wrongdoing, and attributed his victory to his appeal to the young and disillusioned voters.
In 2014, he was attacked by a man who shouted “Hitler was right” and “You’re not welcome in this country”, after he had declared Bradford an “Israel-free zone”. He suffered a broken jaw and rib, and a bruised eye. He said that he was the victim of a hate crime, and blamed the media and the political establishment for inciting violence against him.
In 2019, he was sacked by TalkRadio for a social media post that was deemed antisemitic, after he congratulated Liverpool for winning the Champions League and said that there would be “no Israel flags on the cup”. He said that he was referring to the Israeli flags that some Tottenham fans had waved during the match, and that he was not anti-Jewish but anti-Zionist. He also accused TalkRadio of bowing to pressure from pro-Israel groups.
In 2021, he was banned from Facebook and Twitter for violating their policies on hate speech and misinformation. He had posted a video in which he claimed that the Covid-19 vaccines could cause infertility, and that the pandemic was part of a plot to reduce the world’s population. He also had posted a series of tweets that were considered antisemitic, anti-Muslim, and anti-LGBT. He said that he was the target of a coordinated campaign by his enemies, and that he would continue to speak the truth on other platforms.
George Galloway Wife and Children
George Galloway has been married four times and has five children and four grandchildren. His current wife is Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, a Dutch-Indonesian artist, anthropologist, TV presenter and film producer. They have two children together, Toren Mustaqim and Órla Dhien. They live in London.
George Galloway Net Worth
George Galloway has an estimated net worth of $2 million as of 2024.
George Galloway Social Media Handles
George Galloway is active on various social media platforms, where he shares his views and opinions on various issues. Here are some of his social media handles:
- Twitter: @georgegalloway
- Facebook: George Galloway Official
- Instagram: @georgegallowayofficial
- YouTube: George Galloway
- Patreon: George Galloway
- Telegram: George Galloway
- TikTok: @georgegallowayofficial
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