George Galloway to Stand in Byelection in Attempt to Defeat Green Leader

George Galloway has signalled his intention to come out of self-imposed exile in Russia in order to oppose Green leader Zack Polanski in the byelection for Keir Starmer’s former seat.

Polanski was selected as the Green candidate last week for the byelection, which was triggered when former prime minister Keir Starmer announced he would stand down as an MP. 

Galloway – a perennial byelection candidate – made his announcement on his “Mother of All Talk Shows” programme, in which he also praised Russia’s military prowess after it hit Yahodyn near the Ukraine-Poland border in a drone strike.

The Workers Party of Britain leader said his party would stand “unless the Green party come to the table and make us an offer we can’t refuse,” adding: “If we’re standing, it will almost certainly be me that is the candidate.”

Galloway framed his candidacy as a direct challenge to Polanski. Speaking on his talk show, Galloway cited Polanki’s support for Ukraine and his position on trans rights among the reasons he would oppose him. Later in the show, Galloway said he supports Russia’s war on Ukraine as part of “a wider anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist framework”.

Galloway is living in what he has described as “self-imposed exile” in Russia, after he and his wife Putri Gayatri Pertiwi were questioned by counter-terror police at Gatwick airport in September. The former MP has pledged to take legal action against the Met police over the incident. 

On announcing his intention to stand in the election, he said: “I might be coming back to Britain because hey, there’s a byelection pending”, adding, “Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Mr. Zack Polanski.”

He then said that Polanski’s name was “not real” and that he changed it because it “sounded more Jewish.” Polanski changed his surname from Paulden when he was 18 in order to honour his Jewish ancestry.

Galloway went on to criticise Polanski’s support for Ukraine and “the fact you think and say regularly that a woman can have a penis” as reasons why the Workers party would “find it very difficult to endorse” him.

“Watch this space,” he said, adding that he would be meeting with the leadership of the Workers party online in the next 24 hours to make a decision about his candidacy.

Shortly after Galloway’s challenge, Polanski was endorsed by the Camden People’s Alliance, an independent leftwing group founded by Andrew Feinstein, after the Green leader signed up to the group’s “key pledges”, including support for social housing, opposition to austerity, anti-racism, backing trade unions and campaigning against Israel’s genocide.

Polanski said the byelection will be about “putting pressure” on prime minister Andy Burnham.

Andrew Feinstein, who won almost 20% of the votes in the constituency at the last general election, posted on X: “All progressives opposed to genocide, inequality, authoritarianism and climate catastrophe should vote for Zack”.