"I'm not the only one"
Do you recognise that phrase? I guess nearly everyone who remembers the 70's will - but in case like me you're getting a bit forgetful as the years roll by - yes, it's from that absolutely fantastic John Lennon song "Imagine", which was released way back in 1971.
It's also the title of a book about his political life by a well known (infamous?) politician. Clues for you - Scottish by birth (born 1954), ex-Labour MP, ex-moustachioed (now bearded), shortish height, very impressive in debate on TV, teetotal, radical views. Now MP for another Party having been expelled from Labour. Got him yet? You've got my "respect" if you have. OK - wears a catsuit now and again. No more help - it's George Galloway.
I don't normally like anything auto-biographical because I don't think anyone can see themselves quite as others see them, so I much prefer biographies. This was an entertaining and easy read, however, and gave me quite an insight into Mr Galloway - at least in to how he sees himself. 
This is a great deal different to how others have seen him, if you read his Wikipedia entry. His book sets out how he joined the Labour Party in his early teens,how he became an MP and why he is such a passionate supporter of the Palestinian cause. With his passion for the Arab world, then as you'd expect there's a fair chunk of the book deals with the Middle East, and a lot about the Iraq wars and sanctions against the country.
Actually - I like quite a lot of what Galloway believes in. I'll try and tell you why - in a nutshell.
No more participation in US wars
End illegal foreign occupations in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq - bring UK forces home
Restore link between state retirement pension and average earnings
Return essential national utilities like railways and air traffic control to public ownership
NHS - to be truly free at point of need. No "Trojan horse" partnerships with private sector
Scrap tuition fees for students, who are an investment in our future from which we all benefit
End the witch-hunting of minorities (immigrants, asylum seekers etc). No Identity Cards.
No to the Euro and the European constitution
For Internationalism - against Globalisation.
That's actually a sample of what the Political Party RESPECT actually believed in. The book was written in 2004 so a lot of water will have gone under the bridge in Galloway's life and presumably RESPECT since then.
George Galloway impressed me as someone who doesn't bend with the wind like a lot of politicians, in order to either further their career or to tell his electorate what he thinks they want to hear. He certainly doesn't tend to always follow the Party line, as evidenced by the number of times throughout his political life that he has voted against the Whip. As a result he has not been popular with fellow MPs, particularly with his stand against the Iraq War. He always maintained there were no WMDs in Iraq. He was proved right. Based on the information fed to us by our own Government I believed there were. I was wrong. I certainly don't believe in everything George Galloway espouses but I respect someone whose deeply held beliefs are bigger than their ambitions - and George is big on ambition. He loves himself on the public stage and on TV though - that narcissism I've written about before is deeply ingrained in him. And infamously of course he got a bit too familiar with Saddam Hussein with the oft quoted "Sir, I salute your courage, your strength and your indefatigability." In the book he sets out to explain this remark, explaining it was referring to the Iraqi people as a whole and not Saddam himself. Believe what you will.
I'm not sure if anyone has written a good biography of George Galloway but if I can find one I shall read it because he has led a fascinating life - not many MPs are expelled from their Party and subsequently elected to Parliament as a representative of a brand new political party. Or appear on Celebrity Big Brother which makes the man somewhat of a paradox. How does a left-wing, intelligent, outspoken, anti-establishment voice agree to prostitute himself on one of the most banal, pointless, disgusting shows on TV? Is it because his love of himself and the need to have an admiring audience overrode his common sense in this case? Only he can answer why.
Some quotes about George Galloway from people you know (taken off the book cover):
One of the finest socialists, internationalists and democrats of his generation - TONY BENN
Never mind Benn or Foot - Galloway is the most eloquent left-winger since Bevan. It is a pleasure to disagree with him - FRANK JOHNSON, DAILY TELEGRAPH
His voice is now one of the most important in British politics. He has exposed, for all to see, the rotten core of today's Labour Party - KEN LOACH
I'll leave you with some quotes from the book itself. This is what George Galloway had to say about some of the politicians he worked with. I think it will give you a flavour of this book as being just a little bit more interesting and direct than the anodyne, pasteurised fodder turned out by some other politicians who have aspired to sell you their life story:
"Blair's nose never grows, and his brass neck never blushes. You only know he's lying because his lips are moving"
"New Labour has privatized things Maggie Thatcher only dreamed of"
"This Parliament, this system, is no longer connected to the people to whom it is supposed to belong"
"It is a national duty to bring about the political end of this war-mongering, principle-shredding, mendacious malodorous rancid crew. Blair must go"
"The European Union is a behemoth without teeth, a gigantic gravy train heading for the buffers of European public opinion."
"The vast bloated Eurocracy of the Commission, stuffed full of taxpayer-supplied pate de foie gras, billows and blows but in the end is powerless to lead a great continent against the diktat of the emperors (Bush and Blair)"
"Saddam was a ruthless and cruel man who thought little about signing the death warrants of even close comrades...."
"Kinnock was a shallow, insubstantial individual.......The grandees of today's New Labour who formed a phalanx around Kinnock were all smarter than him.
"The Welsh wizard was full of rhetorical tricks with which he sought to disguise his limited intellect - it was common currency amongst those in "the Project" that the leader was "thick"."
"(John Prescott) is a kind of Lon Chaney, a big palooka, a mascot, a nodding dog in the rear window of Blair's New Labour limousine."
"Cook (Robin) had an ego out of all proportion to his elfin stature ....he was a masterful public speaker, a brilliant wit, exceptionally well read with a sharp and acid pen."
It's a pity this book is now 10 years old because I'd love to see an update written by George Galloway, particularly referring to his take on what has happened to New Labour and its principal characters since, plus what he thinks RESPECT has to offer the electorate in 2015. And also why he thought appearing on Celebrity Big Brother was the right thing to do.
The word on the grapevine is he might even throw his hat into the ring for London Mayor in 2016. I doubt he'll get many votes from Golders Green though.
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