As Galloway, the disrupter steals Sunak’s thunder, MPs worry for their electoral futures
It’s quite a day when the prime minister gives a speech on the steps of Downing Street saying that democracy is under threat – and it’s not even clear that’s the most important event that happened in British politics that day.
The return of George Galloway to Westminster is not the only event that has led to some worrying about the turn of British politics in recent weeks.
There has been ripping up the Commons rules for a debate on Gaza because of fears for MPs’ safety, news that MPs had personal protection and the incursion into the Stoke-on-Trent Conservative fundraiser by Gaza protesters.
Much of the feeling of instability in British politics has been exacerbated by the parties’ handling of events in the Middle East since the October Hamas terror attack on Israel and their subsequent military operations in Gaza.
There is genuine disquiet over these events in Westminster.
However, there is also a hyper-awareness that it is an election year, with leaders looking to protect their voter coalitions and destabilise their opponents. Nothing is automatically quite what it seems.
What is beyond doubt is that Galloway’s return as a disrupter is causing deep-seated nerves on both sides. There are two reasons for this.
First, he represents a viewpoint that both the main parties firmly reject.
Galloway was happy to tell me, in an early morning interview, that no state including Israel has a right to exist.
He is comfortable using terminology and labels about the Middle East which some find offensive.
His championing of Gaza and attacks on Israel represents a breach of the status quo that most of the rest of the Commons rejects. The parties find this uncomfortable, particularly when it helps destabilise some supporter bases.
However, there is a second, more cynical, reason why the parties are nervous – because Galloway has an undoubted talent for communication in an environment where both main parties struggle to get cut through.
Over many years inside and outside Parliament, Galloway has honed an exceptional thunderous preacher-like tone that scolds opponents and plays to the gallery.
Read more:
30,000 Palestinians have died in conflict
Galloway: I ‘despise’ Sunak
Sunak: Our democracy ‘is under threat’
He is a more effective left-wing populist than Jeremy Corbyn; he will give Nigel Farage a run for his money.
In an age of more beige party leaders, this is a rare quality. It is populism from the left, preaching what others say is overly-simplistic narratives – but that doesn’t make it any easier for mainstream politicians to articulate a critique.
It might be that Galloway is a one-man band and fails to capture the mood, cannot return enough to his pet topics and makes less impact that the moment of his arrival.
However, it could that he exacerbates the tensions and division and weaknesses of his political rivals in a way they are unable to inflict on each other. We shall see.