Winners!
Another term of New Labour. I believe the term is 'w00t'. A reduced majority is like complaining that your football team only won 5-3 instead of the 8-2 rampage they managed last season. I'm sure the front bench will be licking their wounds as they pass, without any sort of legislative hurdles, act after act after act.
However it does little to soothe the rage and disgust at George Galloway winning his seat in Bethnal Green. It is arguably the worst blow to racial relations in the United Kingdom in recent history. A man who landed from his native Glasgow to whip up racial tensions in one of the poorest constituencies in the country and to oust, in a display of vitriol not seen outside of the ranks of the SDP (although in fairness he now IS the SDP candidate), one of the finest Labour candidates in the country who's dedication to her community was such that she was perhaps one of the 3 backbencher's names I could ever remember.
I'm with Paxman on [this](http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolavconsole/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_4520000/newsid_4520100/bb_wm_4520131.stm).
I cannot believe that a man who visited, sycophantically bootlicked and subsequently supported one of the most brutal dictators of the late 20th century could win a seat. The fact that he had to resort to the politics of race to do so is indicative of exactly what low Mr Galloway is willing to sink to, although whether it was possible to submerge oneself any further in the slick of political baseness having actually praised a tyrannical dictator and supported his regime in front of his oppressed people is debatable.
I don't even care that Labour didn't win Bethnal Green, if not Labour or Conservative then Lib Dems at least! The RESPECT coalition is a disgrace to British Politics and proof that Extremist Politics when married with Extremist Religious Beliefs make a potent combination and one which must be dealt with immediately.
Later
John
Posted by John Swaine at May 6, 2005 12:29 PM