RESPECT The Unity Coalition
Encyclopedia
Respect is a socialist
political party in England and Wales
founded in 2004. Its name is a contrived acronym standing for Respect
, Equality
, Socialism
, Peace
, Environmentalism
, Community
and Trade Unionism
.
Respect was created in January 2004, using the issue of the war in Iraq to mobilise its vote. Beyond this issue it has attempted to "provide a broad-based and inclusive alternative to the parties of privatisation, war, and occupation
" and has a broad socialist agenda.
Some of the policies on which it has also campaigned include:
In their founding constitution the founding parties state their overall aim as to "help create a socially just and ecologically sustainable
society", giving a definition of social justice that includes "the organisation of society in the most open, participative, and accountable way practicable based on common ownership
and democratic control".
The party was originally launched by The Guardian
journalist George Monbiot
and Birmingham
Stop the War Coalition
chair Salma Yaqoob
. The initial idea to form RESPECT was in Tower Hamlets, in a Bangladeshi family house. Respect allows its members to hold membership of other political organisations. The coalition has the support of:
Notable members involved since the party's foundation include:
The coalition had the support of The National Council of the Socialist Alliance
, until the Alliance dissolved.
The media often assume that George Galloway is the party leader, however according to the party constitution, Respect does not have a leader as such and is run by an elected "national council", a full list of whom can be found on their website and in the register of political parties the leader of Respect is listed as Salma Yaqoob (previously Linda Smith and Nick Wrack).
In its 2006 accounts filed with the Electoral Commission
, it noted it has three paid employees including John Rees
and had 5,739 registered members on 31 December 2006 (2005: 5,674). It has 42 branches (2005: 25) and had a total income of £273,023 and expenditure of £228,100.
Before the 2007 split, it included the Socialist Workers Party.
The coalition sought to challenge Prime Minister Tony Blair
's Labour Party
from the left at the London Assembly
and European Parliament
elections in 2004, and gained a quarter of a million votes. The party claims that these votes had been achieved primarily by capitalising on the 2003 anti-war protests and by attracting the votes of "Old Labour" supporters who felt Blair had moved the party too far to the right
of their socialist beliefs. The correlation between the performance of Respect and the Muslim
population of an area suggests that it has succeeded in attracting the protest votes of some Muslims who feel alienated by Labour's support for the war. It almost immediately had a councillor in Preston, SWP member Michael Lavalette
who was elected as a Socialist Alliance
candidate in 2003, but subsequently voted with the majority of the SWP to wind down the Socialist Alliance in favour of the newly formed party, who was joined by a former Labour councillor, Steve Brooks.
came fifth in the 2004 London mayoral election
. Its largest constituency vote in the 2004 assembly elections
was in City and East London
, where it polled 13.46%, reaching third place.
In their first European Parliament elections (also in 2004), Respect's proportion of the national vote was 1.7%, and they failed to win any seats. Their best result was in London itself, with a relatively strong 4.8%, and their worst was in Wales
and the South West
, with 0.6% and 0.7% respectively. Their strongest borough was Newham
, London, with 21.41% of the vote.
The results at the Birmingham Hodge Hill and Leicester South by-elections
in 2004, were 6.3% and 12.7% of the vote respectively — enough to retain its deposit in both seats (which requires a minimum of 5% of the vote). However, in Birmingham Hodge Hill the "anti-war" vote was split between Respect and the Liberal Democrats; anti-Labour parties claim that, as a result, the Labour candidate won the seat.
Respect won its first election on 29 July 2004, when Oliur Rahman won away a ward from Labour in Tower Hamlets
. The election was called after a Labour councillor was expelled for alleged corruption. In September 2004, Respect candidate Paul McGarr stood in the Tower Hamlets Millwall
ward by-election and came second, pushing Labour into third place.
Respect ran candidates in 26 constituencies and secured its first Member of Parliament
in George Galloway
, who overturned the large majority of Oona King
in Bethnal Green and Bow. It came second in three constituencies: Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath, East Ham
and West Ham. By far their best result outside London was in Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath, where Respect candidate Salma Yaqoob
came second with 27.5% of the vote.
and the council remained in Labour control.
The party also had a full slate
in Newham
but won only one ward there despite winning 26% of the total vote, a greater proportion than that gained in Tower Hamlets. In total Respect gained fifteen new councillors including Salma Yaqoob in Birmingham who won 49% of the vote. Respect narrowly missed winning another council seat in Preston by seven votes where they already have Michael Lavalette
as a councillor, some members noting that a Green candidate in the ward had taken 82 votes, possibly splitting Respect's vote. Other second places were achieved in Preston and wards in Sheffield, Bristol, and several London councils. The party achieved some strong results in areas with a limited Muslim population; for example, Jerry Hicks
, standing in Bristol
Lockleaze, came a distant second in a ward that is 4% Muslim.
of Kirklees
. Ellis got 3.9 percent of the vote, coming fourth and narrowly beating the British National Party
's candidate who finished last.
In the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley
Worsborough by-election on 16 November, Respect polled 91 votes, 5.5%.
In December 2006, Respect gained another councillor in Birmingham, Abdul Aziz, who defected from the Liberal Democrats
, bringing their total in the city to 2.
In February 2007, Respect picked up another councillor when Councillor Wayne Muldoon in Loughborough defected from Labour.
Respect stood a total of 48 candidates in 2007 and although only three candidates were elected (Mohammed Ishtiaq in Birmingham Sparkbrook, Ray Holmes in Bolsover Shirebrook and Michael Lavalette retained his seat in Preston Town Centre), the number of people voting for Respect increased, with candidates coming in 2nd and 3rd places in many boroughs throughout the country. Their wins brought the total number of Respect councillors in Britain to 18.
, while Respect Renewal
members stood as Respect and as 'Respect (George Galloway)' in London (see below for information on the split).
Both sets of candidates received a low share of the vote compared with the results Respect had obtained before the split.
Lindsey German stood as the Left List candidate for London mayor
. Some members of Respect Renewal supported Lindsey German, while others supported the incumbent, Labour Party
candidate Ken Livingstone
. The International Socialist Group
, part of Respect Renewal, called for a first preference vote for the Green Party
candidate, Siân Berry
, rather than Lindsey German.
Lindsey German received 0.68% of the vote (16,796), compared to 3.21% when standing for Respect in 2004, coming 8th out of 10 candidates
Both Respect Renewal and the Left List stood candidates for the Greater London Assembly
. The Left List contested every constituency as well as standing on the London-wide list, headed by Lindsey German Respect Renewal stood in the City and East London constituency as well as contesting the London-wide list, headed by George Galloway.
In the Assembly election, the Left List constituency candidates polled an average of 1.37%. On the London-Wide Assembly Lists, the Left List and Respect (George Galloway) received 0.92% (22,583) and 2.43% (59,721) respectively, compared to the 2004 vote for Respect of 4.57%.
Respect Renewal stood 10 candidates in the local council elections also taking place on May 1 across England and Wales. They returned one new councillor, Nahim Khan, in Birmingham Sparkbrook, who received 42.64% of the vote. The Left list stood or supported 24 candidates. Most received few votes, but they came second in Preston Town Centre and Sheffield Burngreave.
. The strategy backfired, with Labour's Jim Fitzpatrick
easily achieving reelection in Poplar and Limehouse with 18,679 votes (40.0% of the vote, up +4.7%). Conservative Tim Archer came in second (12,649; 27.1%, up 2.6%) and Galloway a distant third with 8,460 votes, 17.5%, down 0.7%, ahead of Liberal Democrat Jonathan Fryer
(5,209; 11.2%, down -2.8) and others. Meanwhile, in Galloway's old constituency, Respect's new candidate Abjol Miah received 8,532 votes, 16.8%, fewer than either the Labour or the Liberal Democratic candidate.
However the party had better results elsewhere. In Birmingham Hall Green constituency Respect candidate Salma Yaqoob
performed better, receiving 12,240 votes, 25.1%, placing second after Labour candidate Roger Godsiff
, who received 16,039 votes, 32.9% making this a marginal seat. In the 2005 general election, she had stood as the Respect candidate for the Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency, since abolished, and also finished in second place, with 27.5% of the vote.
Respect fielded eight more candidates in other constituencies, who together polled 4,319 votes. Arshad Ali received 1,245 votes, 3.1%, in Bradford West
, and Kay Phillips received 996 votes, 2.9%, in Blackley and Broughton
. In total, Respect candidates received 33,269 votes, which amounted to 6.8% of the total vote in the constituencies where they stood and 0.1% of the total UK vote.
wrote a letter to Respect's national council members saying that the party was "too disorganised" and "faced oblivion" unless it reformed its internal party management. The letter also criticised the amount of money spent on the Organising for Fighting Unions conference and on an intervention at the Pride London LGBT
rights event.
The letter was the opening shot in a dispute in Respect between Galloway and his supporters including Salma Yaqoob
on one side, and supporters of the Socialist Workers Party
(SWP) on the other. In particular Galloway called for the appointment of a National Organiser: Nick Wrack, former head of the Socialist Alliance and an SWP member. A letter from the SWP's Central Committee stated: "The SWP believed that the post was created to undermine Respect National Secretary John Rees."
In the course of the dispute, the SWP expelled three members who sided with Galloway: Kevin Ovenden
and Rob Hoveman, who both worked for George Galloway, and Nick Wrack, who was nominated for the position of national organiser.
On 3 November 2007 Galloway's side announced plans to hold a "Respect Renewal
" conference on 17 November, the same day as the planned national conference of Respect. In its opinion, the conference being organised by the officers of Respect was being packed by delegates who supported the SWP. They claimed that the conference was unconstitutional, as it had not been ratified by the National Council and had disagreements especially on the matter of delegations from student branches. As a result, two conferences took place, neither of which recognised the other. The Respect Renewal conference was an open event and organisers claim 350 people attended. This figure has been disputed. The national conference organised by the Respect officers, which went ahead on the same day was attended by 270 delegates from 49 local branches and 17 student groups, as well as 90 observers.
continued to recognise Linda Smith as the Nominating Officer for Respect. This meant that her signature was required for candidates wishing to use the electoral label "Respect" (and similar registered names) on ballot papers in British elections. A letter from the Electoral Commission to Linda Smith on 23 January 2008, set out its position on the split, following confusion on the matter from both sides.
Following the split, the side that included the SWP (but not Galloway or Linda Smith) nominated candidates in two district council by-elections. They could not use the name "Respect" on ballot papers without the signature of the nominating officer. Instead, both were labelled "Independent" on the ballot papers. The SWP faction stood as the Left List
in those elections, and later renamed itself the Left Alternative.
In 2008, one Left List councillor defected to the Conservative Party
. In June, the three remaining Left List councillors in Tower Hamlets, including the Chair and Nominating Officer of the Left List, defected to the Labour Party as did one Respect Renewal councillor. Left Alternative subsequently deregistered from the Electoral Commission Register of Political Parties in April 2010.
In December 2009, the party de-registered (removed) itself from the Register of Political Parties for Northern Ireland, but remains registered for England, Scotland and Wales.
, a left-wing
writer and activist, left the project before its launch, because Respect intended to stand members of its party against existing Green Party
members of the European Parliament
(MEPs). Respect had offered to form a pact with the Green Party to stand down in each other's favoured seats, but this was rejected by the Greens. This might have proved problematic as both groups favoured standing in London, where Respect had received its highest votes and the Green Party held seats.
For the 2004 European Parliament election
, an attempt was made by Respect to present a joint slate with the Green Party as articulated in a letter by Michael Lavalette in the Guardian (5 May 2005). However, the response from Prof John Whitelegg (Guardian, 6 May 2004) claims that this would not have been legally possible as electoral law does not allow for joint slates. The Greens also said that they had selected their candidates months previously by postal ballot, and were sceptical of the SWP influence.
In a newspaper interview Hugo Charlton
, Green party chair, said that he had "always argued for some sort of understanding with them, not least because we are both 'fellow travellers' on the left"; however he also noted that "any agreement at a local level, in the Green spirit of devolution, is up to local parties, but a formal, national alliance is out of the question".
After the 2005 results, Peter Cranie, the Greens' election co-ordinator called for further discussion about how to further build the left of Labour vote, but did not advocate forming a Green-Respect alliance.
During the European elections in 2009 many Respect members supported a vote for the Green lists, especially in the north of England. This included prominent Respect supporter Salma Yaqoob.
During the 2010 General Election the Green Party stood down in favour of Respect candidates in Birmingham Sparkbrook and Manchester, Blackley and Broughton indicating the beginning of a tentative cooperation.
.
Respect is registered as a political party in Scotland but have claimed that this is just so no one else uses their name in Scotland. They have only once stood in Scotland
in one region during the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, where George Galloway stood as the lead candidate on the Glasgow list
(Solidarity
agreed not to stand in Glasgow and contested the remaining seven regions), and have in all other elections urged voters to support the Scottish Socialist Party
(SSP).
In 2005, Respect took part in the second congress of the European Left. Respect's participation in this event was welcomed by the Left Party's chair Fausto Bertinotti
in his closing speech. In 2008, Respect participated in a gathering of European parties organised by the New Anticapitalist Party
in France.
, gay rights and fighting homophobia
in order to attract Muslim support. While Respect included opposition to discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation in its founding declaration, critics claim Galloway has tended to avoid Commons
votes involving equal rights
for gay people - although he did vote to lower the age of consent for gay people in England and Wales to sixteen in 2000, earning him an invitation to open a new Lesbian and Gay centre in Glasgow. He has also praised New Labour's record on improving gay rights, and says of his absence from one vote that "there was never any doubt about the passage of the civil partnerships [bill], I wholly support it". However, Respect's 2005 conference resolved that explicit defence of equal rights and calls for the end to all discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender
people would be made in all of its manifestos and principal election materials.
Respect and elements of the LGBT community have clashed on two other notable occasions. In November 2005, Respect's second largest single financial donor, Dr Mohammad Naseem
, was accused in an article by Peter Tatchell
of being homophobic due to his senior position in the Islamic Party of Britain
, which he claimed advocated the "banning of gay organisations" and the "execution of homosexuals". Naseem, however, stated that the Islamic Party was now little more than a thinktank, and furthermore, disagreed with the statements on the Islamic Party website which Tatchell pointed to, stating his views on homosexuality as follows: "These things are a matter of personal choice...I am not concerned with what people do in their bedrooms." Naseem was also present at Respect's 2005 conference, where the vote to reaffirm Respect's support of LGBT rights was passed unanimously.
In January 2006, an article attacking Tatchell's opposition to the party was written by Respect member and journalist Adam Yosef
. Writing for Desi Xpress
, Yosef accused Tatchell of Islamophobia
but was attacked by gay organisations for "encouraging violence against Tatchell" and for using "xenophobic" and "homophobic" language. Yosef also used other articles to attack same-sex union
s, describing them as a front for "tax fraud". Tatchell called on Respect to expel Yosef but the party responded with the following statement: "Adam Yosef has the right to voice his own opinions in his own column – they range from an ecstatic review of Birmingham’s gay pride to venting his thoughts about Peter Tatchell."
However, in October 2009, Yosef pledged his formal support to Tatchell's General Election parliamentary candidacy, calling for the left to "embrace a mutual personal and political commitment towards equality and human rights".
. Such accusations had been challenged, in particular by the Socialist Workers Party, the largest far-left group in the UK, which helped establish Respect.
, the Alliance for Green Socialism
(AGS) and some other politically left-wing groups initially claimed Respect to be partly a front organisation for the Socialist Workers Party
. Respect leaders disputed this claim, arguing that the Respect programme was formed as an "emergency response" to the 10 June 2004 European Parliament election
and 2004 local elections
, and that a full constitution will be developed democratically through elections at its annual conferences. The resolutions passed at their first National Conference in 2004 can be found on their website.
A subsequent schism saw the SWP faction of Respect separate from the current party.
for bravery. L/Cpl Croucher was awarded the medal for throwing himself on top of a Taliban grenade in Helmand in 2008 to protect his colleagues, and was applauded by the entire council except for the two Respect councillors. This led to criticism from other councillors, including allegations that it was a disrespectful act. The two councillors argued that they were protesting against "false patriotism" by politicians, while defending their own record of support of individual soldiers.
Respect publications
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
political party in England and Wales
Politics of the United Kingdom
The politics of the United Kingdom takes place within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government...
founded in 2004. Its name is a contrived acronym standing for Respect
Respect
Respect denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person or other entity , and also specific actions and conduct representative of that esteem. Respect can be a specific feeling of regard for the actual qualities of the one respected...
, Equality
Social equality
Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect. At the very least, social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and the...
, Socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, Peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
, Environmentalism
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
, Community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
and Trade Unionism
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
.
Policies
Military occupation
Military occupation occurs when the control and authority over a territory passes to a hostile army. The territory then becomes occupied territory.-Military occupation and the laws of war:...
" and has a broad socialist agenda.
Some of the policies on which it has also campaigned include:
- RenationalisationNationalizationNationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
of the railwaysRail transportRail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
and other public servicesPublic servicesPublic services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
. - Opposition to the perceived privatisation of the National Health ServiceNational Health ServiceThe National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
and the education system, including opposition to university tuition fees and support for pensions increases linked to average earnings. - Raising the minimum wageMinimum wageA minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
to the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
's "decency threshold" of £7.40 an hour. - An increase in income taxIncome taxAn income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
es on the rich to fund social welfare programmes and close the income gap. - The repeal of the industrial relations legislation brought in by the Conservative PartyConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
in the 1980s. - The defence of the rights of refugees and other asylum-seekers.
- Opposition to the "stability pactStability and Growth PactThe Stability and Growth Pact is an agreement among the 27 Member states of the European Union that take part in the Eurozone, to facilitate and maintain the stability of the Economic and Monetary Union...
" that the European Union seeks to impose on all those who join the euroEuroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
. - Support for the Palestinian peoplePalestinian peopleThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
and ending British tolerance of various IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i policies regarding the Palestinians. - Support for the British environmental movementConservation in the United KingdomThis page gives an overview of the complex structure of environmental and cultural conservation in the United Kingdom.With the advent of devolved government for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and of evolving regional government for England, the responsibilities for environment and...
. - To support and mediate the KashmirKashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
core-issue between PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and the Republic of India to resolve the dispute peacefully that must involve the Kashmiris themselves to decide with the International CommunityInternational communityThe international community is a term used in international relations to refer to all peoples, cultures and governments of the world or to a group of them. The term is used to imply the existence of common duties and obligations between them...
by respecting various UN ResolutionsResolution (law)A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...
.
In their founding constitution the founding parties state their overall aim as to "help create a socially just and ecologically sustainable
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
society", giving a definition of social justice that includes "the organisation of society in the most open, participative, and accountable way practicable based on common ownership
Common ownership
Common ownership is a principle according to which the assets of an enterprise or other organization are held indivisibly rather than in the names of the individual members or by a public institution such as a governmental body. It is therefore in contrast to public ownership...
and democratic control".
Composition
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
journalist George Monbiot
George Monbiot
George Joshua Richard Monbiot is an English writer, known for his environmental and political activism. He lives in Machynlleth, Wales, writes a weekly column for The Guardian, and is the author of a number of books, including Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain and Bring on the...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
Stop the War Coalition
Stop the War Coalition
The Stop the War Coalition is a United Kingdom group set up on 21 September 2001 that campaigns against what it believes are unjust wars....
chair Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob is the leader, and former vice-chair, of the Respect Party and a former Birmingham City Councillor. She is also the head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and a spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque....
. The initial idea to form RESPECT was in Tower Hamlets, in a Bangladeshi family house. Respect allows its members to hold membership of other political organisations. The coalition has the support of:
- Members of the Muslim Association of BritainMuslim Association of BritainThe Muslim Association of Britain is an Islamic organisation in the United Kingdom established in 1997.-Anti-war activities:Along with Stop the War Coalition and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, it has co-sponsored various demonstrations against the 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq...
and Muslim Council of BritainMuslim Council of BritainThe Muslim Council of Britain is a self-appointed umbrella body for national, regional, local and specialist organisations and institutions from different ethnic and sectarian backgrounds within British Islamic society. It was established in 1997 to help Muslims, to increase education about the...
. - The Socialist Unity NetworkSocialist Unity NetworkThe Socialist Unity Network is a small network of the British left which is not affiliated with any single political party. It grew out of the Socialist Alliance in England, and was originally initiated by several non-aligned members of the SA executive in March 2004.Members of the Network are ...
. - The Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)The Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain is a British communist political party. It was originally named the Communist Party of England , until it was reorganised after rejecting Maoism. The party's thinking is based on the politics of Hardial Bains, who died in 1997...
RCPB(ML). - People of no other political organisation.
Notable members involved since the party's foundation include:
- George GallowayGeorge GallowayGeorge Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
, until 2010 Respect's only Member of ParliamentMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, who was expelled from the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. - Salma YaqoobSalma YaqoobSalma Yaqoob is the leader, and former vice-chair, of the Respect Party and a former Birmingham City Councillor. She is also the head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and a spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque....
. - Linda Smith.
- Abjol Miah, Parliamentary Candidate for Bethnal Green and BowBethnal Green and BowBethnal Green and Bow is a parliamentary constituency located in Greater London, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. The constituency first existed 1974-1983, and was...
in the British General Election 2010. He was not elected. - BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television and film directorFilm directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Ken LoachKen LoachKenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
, who is an elected member of its national council.
The coalition had the support of The National Council of the Socialist Alliance
Socialist Alliance (England)
The Socialist Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance in England between 1992 and 2005.In late 2005, a small group reformed with the name "Socialist Alliance", with a mutual affiliation with the larger Alliance for Green Socialism.-Origins:...
, until the Alliance dissolved.
The media often assume that George Galloway is the party leader, however according to the party constitution, Respect does not have a leader as such and is run by an elected "national council", a full list of whom can be found on their website and in the register of political parties the leader of Respect is listed as Salma Yaqoob (previously Linda Smith and Nick Wrack).
In its 2006 accounts filed with the Electoral Commission
Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)
The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...
, it noted it has three paid employees including John Rees
John Rees (UK politician)
John Rees is a British political activist, broadcaster and writer who is a national officer of the Stop the War Coalition and founding member of Counterfire who was formerly associated with the Socialist Workers Party...
and had 5,739 registered members on 31 December 2006 (2005: 5,674). It has 42 branches (2005: 25) and had a total income of £273,023 and expenditure of £228,100.
Before the 2007 split, it included the Socialist Workers Party.
Electoral performance
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
from the left at the London Assembly
London Assembly
The London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the mayor's annual budget. The assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
and European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
elections in 2004, and gained a quarter of a million votes. The party claims that these votes had been achieved primarily by capitalising on the 2003 anti-war protests and by attracting the votes of "Old Labour" supporters who felt Blair had moved the party too far to the right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
of their socialist beliefs. The correlation between the performance of Respect and the Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
population of an area suggests that it has succeeded in attracting the protest votes of some Muslims who feel alienated by Labour's support for the war. It almost immediately had a councillor in Preston, SWP member Michael Lavalette
Michael Lavalette
Michael Lavalette is a member of the Socialist Workers Party and until May 2011 a local councillor in Preston, Lancashire, England. He was first elected as a Socialist Alliance candidate shortly after the start of the Iraq War in 2003. And re-elected as a Respect councillor in 2007...
who was elected as a Socialist Alliance
Socialist Alliance (England)
The Socialist Alliance was a left-wing electoral alliance in England between 1992 and 2005.In late 2005, a small group reformed with the name "Socialist Alliance", with a mutual affiliation with the larger Alliance for Green Socialism.-Origins:...
candidate in 2003, but subsequently voted with the majority of the SWP to wind down the Socialist Alliance in favour of the newly formed party, who was joined by a former Labour councillor, Steve Brooks.
2004 elections
Respect candidate Lindsey GermanLindsey German
Lindsey German is the convenor of the British anti-war organisation Stop the War Coalition and a former member of the central committee of the Socialist Workers Party. She was editor of Socialist Review for twenty years until 2004...
came fifth in the 2004 London mayoral election
London mayoral election, 2004
The 2004 election to the post of Mayor of London took place on 10 June 2004. It was being held on the same day as other local elections and the UK part of the 2004 European Parliament elections, so Londoners had a total of five votes on three ballot papers. Polling opened at 07:00 local time, and...
. Its largest constituency vote in the 2004 assembly elections
London Assembly election, 2004
An election to the Assembly of London took place on 10 June 2004, along with the London mayoral election, 2004.The Assembly is elected by the Additional Member System. There are fourteen directly elected constituencies, nine of which were won by the Conservatives and five by the Labour Party...
was in City and East London
City and East (London Assembly constituency)
City and East is a constituency represented in the London Assembly. Since its creation in 2000 it has been represented by Labour's John Biggs.-Boundaries:...
, where it polled 13.46%, reaching third place.
In their first European Parliament elections (also in 2004), Respect's proportion of the national vote was 1.7%, and they failed to win any seats. Their best result was in London itself, with a relatively strong 4.8%, and their worst was in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and the South West
South West England
South West England is one of the regions of England defined by the Government of the United Kingdom for statistical and other purposes. It is the largest such region in area, covering and comprising Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. ...
, with 0.6% and 0.7% respectively. Their strongest borough was Newham
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
, London, with 21.41% of the vote.
The results at the Birmingham Hodge Hill and Leicester South by-elections
Leicester South by-election, 2004
A by-election was held in Leicester South on 15 July, the same day as the Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election. It was won by Parmjit Singh Gill of the Liberal Democrats, over-turning a Labour majority of 13,243 votes at the 2001 General Election....
in 2004, were 6.3% and 12.7% of the vote respectively — enough to retain its deposit in both seats (which requires a minimum of 5% of the vote). However, in Birmingham Hodge Hill the "anti-war" vote was split between Respect and the Liberal Democrats; anti-Labour parties claim that, as a result, the Labour candidate won the seat.
Respect won its first election on 29 July 2004, when Oliur Rahman won away a ward from Labour in Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
. The election was called after a Labour councillor was expelled for alleged corruption. In September 2004, Respect candidate Paul McGarr stood in the Tower Hamlets Millwall
Millwall
Millwall is an area in London, on the western side of the Isle of Dogs, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the south of the developments at West India Docks, including Canary Wharf.-History:...
ward by-election and came second, pushing Labour into third place.
2005 general election
In the 2005 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
Respect ran candidates in 26 constituencies and secured its first Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
in George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
, who overturned the large majority of Oona King
Oona King
Oona Tamsyn King, Baroness King of Bow is a Baroness and Member of the House of Lords, and former Chief Diversity Officer of Channel 4. She previously had served as a Labour Party Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow from 1997 until 2005, when she was defeated by Respect candidate George...
in Bethnal Green and Bow. It came second in three constituencies: Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath, East Ham
East Ham (UK Parliament constituency)
East Ham is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, in the London Borough of Newham...
and West Ham. By far their best result outside London was in Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath, where Respect candidate Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob is the leader, and former vice-chair, of the Respect Party and a former Birmingham City Councillor. She is also the head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and a spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque....
came second with 27.5% of the vote.
2006 local elections
Respect stood a limited number of candidates nationally and concentrated on Tower Hamlets, where it stood a full slate of candidates and managed to win twelve seats. Although Respect defeated several high-profile Labour councillors including council leader Michael Keith and Cabinet member for Housing David Edgar, most of Respect's gains were at the expense of the Liberal DemocratsLiberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
and the council remained in Labour control.
The party also had a full slate
Full slate
Any political party or faction that seeks to form a majority in a parliament or on a board of directors or other responsible body typically must run a full slate if only to demonstrate that they have the capacity to attract the talent to fill every position with some person, even if that person is...
in Newham
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
but won only one ward there despite winning 26% of the total vote, a greater proportion than that gained in Tower Hamlets. In total Respect gained fifteen new councillors including Salma Yaqoob in Birmingham who won 49% of the vote. Respect narrowly missed winning another council seat in Preston by seven votes where they already have Michael Lavalette
Michael Lavalette
Michael Lavalette is a member of the Socialist Workers Party and until May 2011 a local councillor in Preston, Lancashire, England. He was first elected as a Socialist Alliance candidate shortly after the start of the Iraq War in 2003. And re-elected as a Respect councillor in 2007...
as a councillor, some members noting that a Green candidate in the ward had taken 82 votes, possibly splitting Respect's vote. Other second places were achieved in Preston and wards in Sheffield, Bristol, and several London councils. The party achieved some strong results in areas with a limited Muslim population; for example, Jerry Hicks
Jerry Hicks (trade unionist)
Jerry Hicks is a British trade unionist. He was the convenor of the Amicus union at Rolls Royce in Bristol, and was dismissed in 2005. An employment tribunal found that he had "probably been dismissed on trade union grounds"....
, standing in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
Lockleaze, came a distant second in a ward that is 4% Muslim.
2006 by-elections
Respect stood Dave Ellis, a trade unionist who organised one of the largest continuous strikes in recent years at Huddersfield Technical College, in the Greenhead ward by-election on 27 July in the districtMetropolitan borough
A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts, however all of them have been granted or regranted...
of Kirklees
Kirklees
The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...
. Ellis got 3.9 percent of the vote, coming fourth and narrowly beating the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
's candidate who finished last.
In the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley
Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley
The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley is a metropolitan borough of the metropolitan county of South Yorkshire, England. Its main town is Barnsley....
Worsborough by-election on 16 November, Respect polled 91 votes, 5.5%.
In December 2006, Respect gained another councillor in Birmingham, Abdul Aziz, who defected from the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
, bringing their total in the city to 2.
In February 2007, Respect picked up another councillor when Councillor Wayne Muldoon in Loughborough defected from Labour.
2007 local elections
In the days before the elections Respect lost one of its Tower Hamlets councillors, Waiseul Islam who returned to the Labour Party. Islam has since expressed his reasons for doing so saying, "I reject the notion of dividing the local community for political gain, which is what I believe Respect are effectively doing."Respect stood a total of 48 candidates in 2007 and although only three candidates were elected (Mohammed Ishtiaq in Birmingham Sparkbrook, Ray Holmes in Bolsover Shirebrook and Michael Lavalette retained his seat in Preston Town Centre), the number of people voting for Respect increased, with candidates coming in 2nd and 3rd places in many boroughs throughout the country. Their wins brought the total number of Respect councillors in Britain to 18.
2008 elections
As a result of the 2007 split there were two organisations, both claiming legitimacy over the Respect identity. The group led by the SWP stood as the Left ListLeft List
Left Alternative was a UK political party resulting from the split within Respect – The Unity Coalition in late 2007. It operated in England and Wales. It was backed by the Socialist Workers Party...
, while Respect Renewal
Respect Renewal
Respect Renewal was a faction that existed during the 2007-8 split within Respect – The Unity Coalition a UK political party.Respect Renewal was led by Linda Smith, the National Chair, Leader and Nominating Officer of Respect, and was formed in November 2007...
members stood as Respect and as 'Respect (George Galloway)' in London (see below for information on the split).
Both sets of candidates received a low share of the vote compared with the results Respect had obtained before the split.
Lindsey German stood as the Left List candidate for London mayor
London mayoral election, 2008
The London mayoral election, 2008 for the office of Mayor of London was held on 1 May 2008 and was won by Conservative Party candidate Boris Johnson....
. Some members of Respect Renewal supported Lindsey German, while others supported the incumbent, Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
. The International Socialist Group
International Socialist Group
The International Socialist Group was a Trotskyist organisation in Britain. It was the British section of the Fourth International until July 2009 when it dissolved into Socialist Resistance.- Origin :...
, part of Respect Renewal, called for a first preference vote for the Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
candidate, Siân Berry
Siân Berry
Siân Berry is an English politician and member of the Green Party of England and Wales. From 2006 to 2007, she was one of the Green Party's Principal Speakers...
, rather than Lindsey German.
Lindsey German received 0.68% of the vote (16,796), compared to 3.21% when standing for Respect in 2004, coming 8th out of 10 candidates
Both Respect Renewal and the Left List stood candidates for the Greater London Assembly
London Assembly election, 2008
An election to the Assembly of London took place on 1 May 2008, along with the London mayoral election, 2008. The Conservatives gained 2 seats, Labour gained one seat, the Liberal Democrats lost two seats, and United Kingdom Independence Party or One London as they became were wiped out...
. The Left List contested every constituency as well as standing on the London-wide list, headed by Lindsey German Respect Renewal stood in the City and East London constituency as well as contesting the London-wide list, headed by George Galloway.
In the Assembly election, the Left List constituency candidates polled an average of 1.37%. On the London-Wide Assembly Lists, the Left List and Respect (George Galloway) received 0.92% (22,583) and 2.43% (59,721) respectively, compared to the 2004 vote for Respect of 4.57%.
Respect Renewal stood 10 candidates in the local council elections also taking place on May 1 across England and Wales. They returned one new councillor, Nahim Khan, in Birmingham Sparkbrook, who received 42.64% of the vote. The Left list stood or supported 24 candidates. Most received few votes, but they came second in Preston Town Centre and Sheffield Burngreave.
2010 general election
George Galloway, Respect's only Member of Parliament, had announced in 2007 that he would not stand again for Bethnal Green & Bow at the next General Election. Instead, while another Respect member would contest Bethnal Green & Bow, Galloway was going to be a candidate for the nearby, newly created and notionally fairly safe Labour seat of Poplar and LimehousePoplar and Limehouse (UK Parliament constituency)
Poplar and Limehouse is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament using the first past the post system of election....
. The strategy backfired, with Labour's Jim Fitzpatrick
Jim Fitzpatrick (politician)
James Fitzpatrick is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Poplar and Limehouse since the 2010 General Election. From 1997 to the 2010 election he was the member for Poplar and Canning Town...
easily achieving reelection in Poplar and Limehouse with 18,679 votes (40.0% of the vote, up +4.7%). Conservative Tim Archer came in second (12,649; 27.1%, up 2.6%) and Galloway a distant third with 8,460 votes, 17.5%, down 0.7%, ahead of Liberal Democrat Jonathan Fryer
Jonathan Fryer
Jonathan Fryer is a British writer, broadcaster, lecturer and Liberal Democrat politician.He was the LibDem candidate for the constituency of Poplar and Limehouse in the 2010 general election, coming in fourth.-Early life:...
(5,209; 11.2%, down -2.8) and others. Meanwhile, in Galloway's old constituency, Respect's new candidate Abjol Miah received 8,532 votes, 16.8%, fewer than either the Labour or the Liberal Democratic candidate.
However the party had better results elsewhere. In Birmingham Hall Green constituency Respect candidate Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob is the leader, and former vice-chair, of the Respect Party and a former Birmingham City Councillor. She is also the head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and a spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque....
performed better, receiving 12,240 votes, 25.1%, placing second after Labour candidate Roger Godsiff
Roger Godsiff
Roger Duncan Godsiff is a British Labour politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath from 1992 to 2010, when he became Member of Parliament for Birmingham Hall Green.-Early life:...
, who received 16,039 votes, 32.9% making this a marginal seat. In the 2005 general election, she had stood as the Respect candidate for the Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency, since abolished, and also finished in second place, with 27.5% of the vote.
Respect fielded eight more candidates in other constituencies, who together polled 4,319 votes. Arshad Ali received 1,245 votes, 3.1%, in Bradford West
Bradford West (UK Parliament constituency)
Bradford West is a borough constituency in England which is represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
, and Kay Phillips received 996 votes, 2.9%, in Blackley and Broughton
Blackley and Broughton (UK Parliament constituency)
Blackley and Broughton is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...
. In total, Respect candidates received 33,269 votes, which amounted to 6.8% of the total vote in the constituencies where they stood and 0.1% of the total UK vote.
The crisis in Respect
In September 2007 George GallowayGeorge Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
wrote a letter to Respect's national council members saying that the party was "too disorganised" and "faced oblivion" unless it reformed its internal party management. The letter also criticised the amount of money spent on the Organising for Fighting Unions conference and on an intervention at the Pride London LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
rights event.
The letter was the opening shot in a dispute in Respect between Galloway and his supporters including Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob
Salma Yaqoob is the leader, and former vice-chair, of the Respect Party and a former Birmingham City Councillor. She is also the head of the Birmingham Stop the War Coalition and a spokesperson for Birmingham Central Mosque....
on one side, and supporters of the Socialist Workers Party
Socialist Workers Party (Britain)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far left party in Britain founded by Tony Cliff. The SWP's student section has groups at a number of universities...
(SWP) on the other. In particular Galloway called for the appointment of a National Organiser: Nick Wrack, former head of the Socialist Alliance and an SWP member. A letter from the SWP's Central Committee stated: "The SWP believed that the post was created to undermine Respect National Secretary John Rees."
In the course of the dispute, the SWP expelled three members who sided with Galloway: Kevin Ovenden
Kevin Ovenden
Kevin Ovenden is a British, left-wing, political activist and currently a member of the Respect Party's leadership, and an organiser of Viva Palestina.-Biography:Ovenden was for many years a leading member of the Socialist Workers Party....
and Rob Hoveman, who both worked for George Galloway, and Nick Wrack, who was nominated for the position of national organiser.
On 3 November 2007 Galloway's side announced plans to hold a "Respect Renewal
Respect Renewal
Respect Renewal was a faction that existed during the 2007-8 split within Respect – The Unity Coalition a UK political party.Respect Renewal was led by Linda Smith, the National Chair, Leader and Nominating Officer of Respect, and was formed in November 2007...
" conference on 17 November, the same day as the planned national conference of Respect. In its opinion, the conference being organised by the officers of Respect was being packed by delegates who supported the SWP. They claimed that the conference was unconstitutional, as it had not been ratified by the National Council and had disagreements especially on the matter of delegations from student branches. As a result, two conferences took place, neither of which recognised the other. The Respect Renewal conference was an open event and organisers claim 350 people attended. This figure has been disputed. The national conference organised by the Respect officers, which went ahead on the same day was attended by 270 delegates from 49 local branches and 17 student groups, as well as 90 observers.
Reasons for the split
Linda Smith, Respect's national chair at the time of the split, has claimed: "The sectarianism and ‘control freak’ methods of the SWP have led us to a situation where Respect is irretrievably split." The SWP has attributed the split to a shift to the right by George Galloway and his allies, motivated by electoralism (placing election-winning above other principles). This, say the SWP leadership, led to attacks on the SWP as the most prominent left group in Respect.Electoral stance since the split
The Electoral CommissionElectoral Commission (United Kingdom)
The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...
continued to recognise Linda Smith as the Nominating Officer for Respect. This meant that her signature was required for candidates wishing to use the electoral label "Respect" (and similar registered names) on ballot papers in British elections. A letter from the Electoral Commission to Linda Smith on 23 January 2008, set out its position on the split, following confusion on the matter from both sides.
Following the split, the side that included the SWP (but not Galloway or Linda Smith) nominated candidates in two district council by-elections. They could not use the name "Respect" on ballot papers without the signature of the nominating officer. Instead, both were labelled "Independent" on the ballot papers. The SWP faction stood as the Left List
Left List
Left Alternative was a UK political party resulting from the split within Respect – The Unity Coalition in late 2007. It operated in England and Wales. It was backed by the Socialist Workers Party...
in those elections, and later renamed itself the Left Alternative.
In 2008, one Left List councillor defected to the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
. In June, the three remaining Left List councillors in Tower Hamlets, including the Chair and Nominating Officer of the Left List, defected to the Labour Party as did one Respect Renewal councillor. Left Alternative subsequently deregistered from the Electoral Commission Register of Political Parties in April 2010.
Resolution of the split
In October 2008, representatives of both sides made an agreement, with the result that "former Respect Treasurer Elaine Graham-Leigh has signed the official forms required for a member of Respect (Renewal) to be registered as the party treasurer." Will McMahon's appointment removed the obstacles preventing Galloway's organisation from full control over the organisation's name and legal status.In December 2009, the party de-registered (removed) itself from the Register of Political Parties for Northern Ireland, but remains registered for England, Scotland and Wales.
Relations with the Green movement
Respect co-initiator George MonbiotGeorge Monbiot
George Joshua Richard Monbiot is an English writer, known for his environmental and political activism. He lives in Machynlleth, Wales, writes a weekly column for The Guardian, and is the author of a number of books, including Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain and Bring on the...
, a left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
writer and activist, left the project before its launch, because Respect intended to stand members of its party against existing Green Party
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
members of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(MEPs). Respect had offered to form a pact with the Green Party to stand down in each other's favoured seats, but this was rejected by the Greens. This might have proved problematic as both groups favoured standing in London, where Respect had received its highest votes and the Green Party held seats.
For the 2004 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2004
Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...
, an attempt was made by Respect to present a joint slate with the Green Party as articulated in a letter by Michael Lavalette in the Guardian (5 May 2005). However, the response from Prof John Whitelegg (Guardian, 6 May 2004) claims that this would not have been legally possible as electoral law does not allow for joint slates. The Greens also said that they had selected their candidates months previously by postal ballot, and were sceptical of the SWP influence.
In a newspaper interview Hugo Charlton
Hugo Charlton
Hugo Charlton is a practicing criminal barrister, international human rights lawyer, environmental activist, broadcaster and commentator. He was Chair of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2005...
, Green party chair, said that he had "always argued for some sort of understanding with them, not least because we are both 'fellow travellers' on the left"; however he also noted that "any agreement at a local level, in the Green spirit of devolution, is up to local parties, but a formal, national alliance is out of the question".
After the 2005 results, Peter Cranie, the Greens' election co-ordinator called for further discussion about how to further build the left of Labour vote, but did not advocate forming a Green-Respect alliance.
During the European elections in 2009 many Respect members supported a vote for the Green lists, especially in the north of England. This included prominent Respect supporter Salma Yaqoob.
During the 2010 General Election the Green Party stood down in favour of Respect candidates in Birmingham Sparkbrook and Manchester, Blackley and Broughton indicating the beginning of a tentative cooperation.
International affiliation
While Respect is not part of any international organisation and has no formal links to any party from other countries, it does have fraternal links with various organisations. Respect participates however in the European Anticapitalist LeftEuropean Anticapitalist Left
The European Anticapitalist Left is an informal network for European anticapitalist left wing parties. EACL met for the first time in Lisbon in March 2000 with the representation of the Scottish Socialist Party, the Portuguese Left Bloc, the Danish Red-Green Alliance, the French LCR, and the...
.
Respect is registered as a political party in Scotland but have claimed that this is just so no one else uses their name in Scotland. They have only once stood in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in one region during the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, where George Galloway stood as the lead candidate on the Glasgow list
Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
Glasgow is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament , which were created in 1999. Nine of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament...
(Solidarity
Solidarity (Scotland)
Solidarity is a political party in Scotland, launched on September 3, 2006 as a breakaway from the Scottish Socialist Party in the aftermath of Tommy Sheridan's libel action...
agreed not to stand in Glasgow and contested the remaining seven regions), and have in all other elections urged voters to support the Scottish Socialist Party
Scottish Socialist Party
The Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing Scottish political party. Positioning itself significantly to the left of Scotland's centre-left parties, the SSP campaigns on a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence....
(SSP).
In 2005, Respect took part in the second congress of the European Left. Respect's participation in this event was welcomed by the Left Party's chair Fausto Bertinotti
Fausto Bertinotti
Fausto Bertinotti is an Italian politician and former leader of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista. On April 29, 2006, after the center-left coalition's victory in the Italian general election, he was chosen by the new parliament as President of the Chamber of Deputies .-Trade...
in his closing speech. In 2008, Respect participated in a gathering of European parties organised by the New Anticapitalist Party
New Anticapitalist Party
The New Anticapitalist Party is a French political party founded in February 2009. Its name was originally intended to be temporary; a vote on the name being held at the founding congress on 6–8 February 2009, where NPA won over "Revolutionary Anticapitalist Party" with 53% of the vote.The party ...
in France.
Equality
Respect has been accused of abandoning some traditional liberal-social issues, including women's rights, abortionAbortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, gay rights and fighting homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
in order to attract Muslim support. While Respect included opposition to discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation in its founding declaration, critics claim Galloway has tended to avoid Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
votes involving equal rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
for gay people - although he did vote to lower the age of consent for gay people in England and Wales to sixteen in 2000, earning him an invitation to open a new Lesbian and Gay centre in Glasgow. He has also praised New Labour's record on improving gay rights, and says of his absence from one vote that "there was never any doubt about the passage of the civil partnerships [bill], I wholly support it". However, Respect's 2005 conference resolved that explicit defence of equal rights and calls for the end to all discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
people would be made in all of its manifestos and principal election materials.
Respect and elements of the LGBT community have clashed on two other notable occasions. In November 2005, Respect's second largest single financial donor, Dr Mohammad Naseem
Mohammad Naseem
Mohammad Naseem, born in 1924, is a former GP and the chairman of the Birmingham Mosque Trust , one of the largest and most prominent Islamic places of worship in the United Kingdom....
, was accused in an article by Peter Tatchell
Peter Tatchell
Peter Gary Tatchell is an Australian-born British political campaigner best known for his work with LGBT social movements...
of being homophobic due to his senior position in the Islamic Party of Britain
Islamic Party of Britain
The Islamic Party of Britain is a defunct political party in the United Kingdom that was active from its formation in 1989 until 2006. The IPB was Islamist, opposed to both capitalism and communism. David Musa Pidcock, a convert to Islam, founded and led the party.They had limited electoral success...
, which he claimed advocated the "banning of gay organisations" and the "execution of homosexuals". Naseem, however, stated that the Islamic Party was now little more than a thinktank, and furthermore, disagreed with the statements on the Islamic Party website which Tatchell pointed to, stating his views on homosexuality as follows: "These things are a matter of personal choice...I am not concerned with what people do in their bedrooms." Naseem was also present at Respect's 2005 conference, where the vote to reaffirm Respect's support of LGBT rights was passed unanimously.
In January 2006, an article attacking Tatchell's opposition to the party was written by Respect member and journalist Adam Yosef
Adam Yosef
Adam Yosef is a British multimedia journalist and community activist.-Activism:Between 2003 and 2004, Yosef was employed by the Birmingham Mosque Trust as a Press & Public Relations representative...
. Writing for Desi Xpress
Desi Xpress
Desi Xpress was a weekly national entertainment newspaper, published in the United Kingdom by Urban Media Limited.-Background:Desi Xpress was first launched in the Midlands region in England in September 2004 before becoming national in September 2005.The entertainment weekly catered predominantly...
, Yosef accused Tatchell of Islamophobia
Islamophobia
Islamophobia describes prejudice against, hatred or irrational fear of Islam or MuslimsThe term dates back to the late 1980s or early 1990s, but came into common usage after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States....
but was attacked by gay organisations for "encouraging violence against Tatchell" and for using "xenophobic" and "homophobic" language. Yosef also used other articles to attack same-sex union
Same-sex union
Same-sex unions are legal or religious unions between two persons of the same sex.In legal contexts, their recognition varies based upon the region in which the union is formed. Some regions allow same-sex marriage, civil marriage between two persons of the same sex. Others recognize civil unions...
s, describing them as a front for "tax fraud". Tatchell called on Respect to expel Yosef but the party responded with the following statement: "Adam Yosef has the right to voice his own opinions in his own column – they range from an ecstatic review of Birmingham’s gay pride to venting his thoughts about Peter Tatchell."
However, in October 2009, Yosef pledged his formal support to Tatchell's General Election parliamentary candidacy, calling for the left to "embrace a mutual personal and political commitment towards equality and human rights".
Reformism
Some far-left organisations did not join Respect. They saw the party as being a "cross-class" organisation, rather than a party of the working class. They argued that those from other classes, with interests different from the working class, would seek to change Respect's policy accordingly. The group Workers Power argued that Respect's politics were populist and reformist rather than socialist and revolutionary, especially compared with a previous left project, the Socialist AllianceSocialist Alliance
Socialist Alliance may refer to:*Alternative Socialist Alliance - Independents *Democratic Socialist Alliance *London Socialist Alliance*Scottish Socialist Alliance*Socialist Alliance *Socialist Alliance...
. Such accusations had been challenged, in particular by the Socialist Workers Party, the largest far-left group in the UK, which helped establish Respect.
Democratic process
Members of the Weekly WorkerWeekly Worker
The Weekly Worker is a newspaper published by the Communist Party of Great Britain . The paper is well known on the left for its polemical articles, close attention to Marxist theory and the politics of other Marxist groups...
, the Alliance for Green Socialism
Alliance for Green Socialism
The Alliance for Green Socialism is a socialist and environmentalist political grouping operating across Britain...
(AGS) and some other politically left-wing groups initially claimed Respect to be partly a front organisation for the Socialist Workers Party
Socialist Workers Party (Britain)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far left party in Britain founded by Tony Cliff. The SWP's student section has groups at a number of universities...
. Respect leaders disputed this claim, arguing that the Respect programme was formed as an "emergency response" to the 10 June 2004 European Parliament election
European Parliament election, 2004
Elections to the European Parliament were held from 10 June 2004 to 13 June 2004 in the 25 member states of the European Union, using varying election days according to local custom...
and 2004 local elections
United Kingdom local elections, 2004
The United Kingdom local elections of 2004 were held on 10 June, as part of the 2004 set of elections along with the European elections and the London mayoral and Assembly elections.-About the elections:...
, and that a full constitution will be developed democratically through elections at its annual conferences. The resolutions passed at their first National Conference in 2004 can be found on their website.
A subsequent schism saw the SWP faction of Respect separate from the current party.
Controversy about anti-war protest
Respect councillors Salma Yaqoob and Mohammed Ishtiaq stayed seated with their arms folded at a council meeting to honour L/Cpl Matt Croucher (former 40 Commando, now Royal Marines Reserve Merseyside) the George CrossGeorge Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
for bravery. L/Cpl Croucher was awarded the medal for throwing himself on top of a Taliban grenade in Helmand in 2008 to protect his colleagues, and was applauded by the entire council except for the two Respect councillors. This led to criticism from other councillors, including allegations that it was a disrespectful act. The two councillors argued that they were protesting against "false patriotism" by politicians, while defending their own record of support of individual soldiers.
External links
Respect publications
- Peace Justice Equality: the Respect manifesto for the May 2005 election 727 KB PDF document. Retrieved 5 May 2005.
- Where now for Respect? 435 KB PDF document. John ReesJohn Rees (UK politician)John Rees is a British political activist, broadcaster and writer who is a national officer of the Stop the War Coalition and founding member of Counterfire who was formerly associated with the Socialist Workers Party...
, Respect National Secretary. 22 June 2004. Retrieved 5 May 2005.