This time a lift from East London Advertiser (by deputy editor Ted Jeory) about the latest farcical dispute in diss-respectland. The really fun bit is speculating whether or not the warring parties will stand candidates against each other in the forth coming Greater London Assembly and Mayor elections?George Galloway appears to have decided to stand for Respect Renewal . Will he go for Mayor against Ken Livingstone and declared SWP Candidate Lindsey German ?(aka Respect Independent or is it now called "Respect - the Splitters coalition"?) or in “City & East” against Labour Assembly member John Biggs? Or will be stand down to pursue his many lucrative media business interests! We're have to wait and see.
"THE battle for the soul of MP George Galloway's Respect party has
entered a new phase with the warring factions squabbling over their
names.
The four councillors who split from their seven Respect colleagues on
Tower Hamlets council to become Respect Independent in October have now
changed their name again.
From today (Jan-15), the defecting group is known as Respect - the
Unity Coalition.
The first shots in the opening battle were fired today by Cllr Abjol
Miah, leader of the larger rump group which is still known as Respect.
He is lodging an official objection at the Town Hall because he says
the name is the 'official' party title, registered with the Electoral
Commission.
But Tower Hamlets council told the Advertiser that any objection would
not be upheld because "the name change is entirely valid for purpose of
council business."
The move by the four defecting SWP-sympathetic councillors, Oli Rahman,
Ahmed Hussain, Rania Khan and Lutfa Begum, is the first shot in what
promises to be a bitter fight over who can stand as Respect candidates
in May's London Assembly elections.
But the longer the 'farce' continues, as observers describe it, the
more both factions risk losing credibility with mainstream voters.
