Galloway said Respect will run for two vacant seats in the House of Commons

By Hani Mohamed, IOL Correspondent 

LONDON, June 16 (IslamOnline.net) – British lawmaker and anti-war advocate George Galloway said the defeat of the ruling Labour in the EU parliamentary elections is a victory for anti-war parties and his promising Respect, which did not make it to the pan-Europe legislature.

"This is a very big story of a catastrophe for the Labour because of the war," the British activist told IslamOnline.net.

Leading the four-month-old Respect party, Galloway lost the race to the newly enlarged European Parliament, polling 91,000 of the 115,000 needed votes.

But the ex-Labour firebrand was satisfied that the Labour was trounced by other anti-war parties.

"Respect lost, however, people voted to other parties which oppose the war like the Liberal Democrats, the British National Party, the Greens, the Welsh National Party, the Scottish National Party. They are all against the war," he said.

"Even the one that the Labour party tries to hide behind him London Mayor Ken Livingstone, he is against war and against government policies.

"Now, the Labour has really to change its directions in foreign and domestic policy," Galloway added.

He was suspended from the Labour last May following a March interview with Abu Dhabi television in which he accused British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his war duo U.S. President George Bush of invading Iraq "like wolves".

In October, the Labour expelled the ferocious anti-war opponent.

Disqualified Votes

Galloway attributed his defeat in the European elections to the "disqualified votes (voting for more than one candidate) and the lack of time for advertising".

However, he described the results as "unprecedented" for a nascent party like Respect.

"The result for 20 weeks, what about if we had 20 months," he told IOL.

Asked about the party’s next step, Galloway said it will run for two vacant seats in the House of Commons for Chester South, Midland , and Hodge Hill, Birmingham .

He added that the fledging party will also run for the local council elections in Tour Hamlit.

Respect’s slate has garnered a total of 250,000 votes or 2.3 percent of the votes nationwide.

Party member Anas Al-Tikriti blamed the election failure on a media blackout and political miscalculation.

Tikriti, who ran in Yorkshire and the Humber , told IOL that 40 percent of the Muslim voters, who traditionally vote Labour, cast their ballots in favor of Respect.