A ROW has emerged after George Galloway announced he would stand as a candidate in the by-election for Keir Starmer’s former seat in order to oppose Green leader Zack Polanski.
The Workers Party of Britain leader is one of 15 candidates standing in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, where he said he would oppose the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales over his support for Ukraine and his position on trans rights.
Galloway said on Monday his party wouldn’t field a candidate “unless the Green Party comes to the table and makes us an offer we can’t refuse”.
However, he later confirmed on the same day that he would be standing in the by-election for the Workers Party of Britain, which has since triggered a row within the party.
On Tuesday, Chris Williamson, deputy leader of the Workers Party of Britain, said he had resigned from the party because he “profoundly disagreed” with the decision to stand in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election.
Williamson said he had a “huge amount of respect” for Galloway, but added he believed the party should “get behind” Polanski in his bid to get elected into Westminster.
He wrote: “My firm view is that the left must collaborate to defeat the Labour Party, Reform UK, Conservatives and Lib Dems because these parties are all in the pocket of the neoliberal Zionist war machine. Zack is best placed to do that in this by-election.
“I commend Zack's recognition that the [government] can intervene in the economy to create a good society because it issues the currency.
“I applaud his position on the so-called war on drugs, which has absolutely failed. I salute his pragmatic and compassionate analysis of illegal immigration. And I commend his assessment of the criminal justice system.”
Williamson added: “I do have some differences on a small set of issues, most notably their current pro-EU and pro-Nato stances, but my view is that we should agree where we agree, which is on most things, and simply have fraternal disagreements where we don’t.”
Camden Council has published the full list of all the challengers hoping to replace the ex-prime minister as the MP for the London seat after the nominations period closed on Tuesday.
Among those standing include Labour leader of Camden Council Sagal Abdi-Wali, Conservative Ewan Cameron and Reform UK’s Peter Newman, along with Green Party leader Polanski and Galloway.
Polanski will be hoping to build on his party’s momentum in the May local elections that saw the Greens placed second behind Labour in council wards within the constituency.
He is likely to be the most serious electoral threat to Labour, who have held the constituency since it was created in 1983.
At the 2024 general election and recent local elections, Labour voters have moved towards the Greens and independents amid dissatisfaction with the UK Government’s approach to Gaza.
When he was announced as the party’s candidate, Polanski said he was confident “but not complacent” about his chances.
The Green leader said he believed people would see that voting for his party would be a message that they do not want “another Labour MP in this area, that will just add to Andy Burnham’s huge majority”.
He insisted that a Green voice “will speak for the people of Holborn and St Pancras and hold the government to account in constructive ways”.
