England cricketer Monty Panesar to stand for Workers Party at General Election, George Galloway tells LBC

30 April 2024, 09:20 | Updated: 30 April 2024, 09:30

George Galloway: Monty Panesar to stand as a Southall candidate for the Workers Party of Britain

George Galloway has told LBC that former England cricketer Monty Panesar will stand for his Workers Party of Britain at the General Election.

Mr Galloway is expected to unveil 200 candidates outside Parliament on Tuesday, including former England cricketer Monty Panesar, who he said will be a candidate in Southall.

He told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: “Monty, of course, was a great left arm spinner and so we could do with him”.

Asked what he thought was attracting people to his party, Mr Galloway said: “The reality is that we are Labour shorn of identity politics, infatuation with race and gender, wokery and grennery and quackery, we are the real deal. We do what we say on the tin, we stand up for the working people”.

Two months on from the Rochdale by-election, in which controversial ex-Labour MP George Galloway won a landslide, it was reported that he would reach out to current and former Labour MPs.

Speaking after the result back in February, Mr Galloway was asked if he was in talks with Labour MPs - to which he told LBC "if I was I wouldn't be telling LBC... But there is a problem, and far more important is the risk to the seats of Labour candidates at a General Election - dozens if not scores of them, from the political movement that will eliminate out of here [Rochdale]"

Claudia Webbe - the MP for Leicester East is believed to be in active talks - she was pictured with Mr Galloway at a recent Muslim Aid event. Ms Webbe was suspended from Labour in 2020 after being charged and later convicted of harassment - her appeal was partially dismissed.

More consequential though, is that it is believed the serving Labour MP in talks with Mr Galloway is Tahir Ali who represents Birmingham Hall Green with a majority of 28,508.

Mr Ali was forced to apologise for a remark at Prime Ministers Questions in January for asserting that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had "the blood of thousands of innocent people on his hands"

Tahir Ali was also sat next to Mr Galloway at PMQs. two weeks ago.

In response, a spokesperson for Mr Galloway told LBC “The Workers Party cannot confirm or deny any ongoing talks with MPs for the obvious reasons. But we can say with certainty that there are Labour MPs who are looking for a new home.

LBC has also had it confirmed from Mr Galloways that his Workers Party will not contest the seat of Islington North if Jeremy Corbyn stands - and they will instead endorse the ex-Labour leader, whilst the party intends to allow former left-wing South African MP Andrew Feinstein to stand against Sir Keir Starmer in the Labour leaders seat of Holborn and St Pancreas.