George Galloway seeking return to Parliament

FORMER Scottish Labour MP George Galloway is expected to launch a fresh bid to get back into Parliament today.

Mr Galloway is due to make an announcement about whether he will contest the Bradford West by-election, which has been triggered because Labour backbencher Marsha Singh announced last week he is to step down as an MP.

The former Glasgow Labour MP returned to the Commons in 2005 when he won the Bethnal Green seat for his Respect party. But he failed to get elected when he stood in Poplar and Limehouse in the 2010 general election.

Mr Galloway was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003 over comments he made about the war in Iraq. However, his profile continued to grow as he appeared regularly on TV, famously making an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006.

He is expected to make an announcement about the Bradford West by-election in the West Yorkshire town later today.

Mr Galloway posted on Facebook that he is visiting Bradford “for consultations about standing for parliament in the forthcoming by-election”.

He added: “If I stand we will need money and men and women to rally the voters behind the banner of justice, equality and peace.

“It may be that this is the moment when we can all be together, to stop the wars abroad and the ruthless attrition being conducted against our own people at home. Watch this space. GG.”