to continue but right now I've get one
of the big characters I suppose not just
of London politics but of British
politics but he's working towards uh the
biggest uh uh piece of pie which is to
be mayor of London and I'll bringing you
all the interviews with as many of the
prospective mayor candidates as I can
we've spoken to sadik Khan from labor
Zack Goldsmith from the conservative
ukps Peter Whittle Shan Barry from the
greens and Caroline pgeon yesterday for
the liberal Democrats and as I say now
we have Mr George away from the respect
party who wants to be mayor of London
how are you George I'm very good I
thought you handled that last call about
alcoholism very very well I'm a
non-drinker lifelong non- Drinker you
never drunk never in my life nor my
father before me but I do know and it's
one of the reasons why I'm glad my
father taught me the way he did I do
know the devastation that alcohol brings
to many people's lives yeah I suppose
one of the things that we should start
with perhaps you and I is we're talking
about Devastation when I walk and I take
my walk so I can make my phone calls to
people uh from here down to hurn or
Liverpool Street or whatever I see the
numbers of people who are homeless on
our streets just did a piece with Tom
bitman about places being built you want
to be mayor of London do you recognize
that there is a crisis and it is a big
problem for London it's the biggest
crisis facing the milal facing the
government not just the people that are
literally sleeping on the streets though
heav knows there are thousands of those
but the people who are sleeping on other
people's floors people sleeping on their
sofas cuz somebody else is on the floor
uh people I was going to call them kids
but I'm talking about 35y old men and
women living still with their parents at
home with no chance of getting a house
in the area where their parents their
extended family are living and thus
being pushed further and further to the
edge what would you do uh well I'd have
a crash housing build uh house building
uh program when we were bankrupt after
the second world war we built 250,000
Council houses a year last year in
London we built 81 81 in a city where
hundreds of thousands of people are on
the waiting list but of course that's
going to take time there are things that
can be done now there are hundreds of
thousands maybe 800,000 houses in London
that weren't bought as houses at all but
just as safety deposit boxes
empty hot money
from has already LED tax on I'm going to
land tax them and I'm going to
compulsorily purchase them if that
doesn't work so any house that's been
empty for more than a year without good
excuse will be compulsorily purchased by
me if I'm the mayor and that'll soon get
them on their toes I think they'll soon
realize with that combination of tax and
compulsory purchase that uh that game is
over that that show is over the part is
finished and we can't have people hiding
their money in London in houses in which
nobody lives let's talk transport uh and
Broad Strokes here of course hopefully
we get you back in all the candidates
and we able to press a little more uh
but transport okay 1% uh it's going up
by the rate of inflation we're supposed
to be grateful for that more people I
think 18 times this year the transport
Network reached record numbers so people
are using it it costs a bit though
doesn't it well we've got the most
expensive public transport in the world
as well as the highest rents and the
highest house prices in the entire world
bar none but before I say something
about that in that walk that you take
down to hbor you're of course breathing
in polluted air that nearly 10,000
people a year in London are dying from
and so one of the things I'm going to
tackle is The Chronic congestion here
caused by too many cars too many of them
licensed uh private hire uh taxes that
tfl has been handing out licenses left
right and Center to every Tom Dick and
Harry uh nearly 100,000 power to stop
yeah we do tfl can stop it and they must
put a cap on the number of private hard
cabs but I'm going to ban trucks and
heavy vehicles from inner London between
Dawn and dusk that's to save the lives
of cyclists the limbs of cyclists and
the lungs of everybody still the way
that food gets moved around still way we
move things has to be done in the
evening and through the night London
will have to become a 24-hour city with
a 24-hour tube and 24-hour deliveries
you planning on sitting Mr May if you
are elected around a table with the
unions yes and I think I'm in a very
good position to deal with the unions
I've been a union man all of my life and
when it comes to the 24-hour tube we've
got to get agreement the rmt is in favor
of the 24-hour tube they
just not in favor of being made to walk
the plank uh over it you have to take
your people with you you have to take
your employees with you if if the London
BBC Radio London management came in here
now and said Eddie you're you're so good
I'm going to extend your show by 3 hours
you're going to have to sit here for
double the time you might say well all
right but what's on the table for it
what am I getting in terms of time off
what am I get in terms of extra money
you have no idea how close you are dude
you have no idea there you go the thing
is that you know you and sadik are quite
similar in that you come with a history
are you worried that in any way shape or
form that history might hinder your
opportunity of becoming mayor of London
and really not you know London is such a
Cosmopolitan place with 53% of the
population being from the minorities the
minorities are the majority in London I
have solid support in all of those
communities and as a labor and Union man
I've got solid support amongst the
working class whatever color they are uh
so on my team I've got former Dockers
former printers not least because I was
on the picket lines with both of them in
the 1980s I was kicked by a police horse
down at whopping and carried off in an
ambulance I picketed there every
Saturday night printers ex printers now
right behind me as are many of the
Dockers many of the Ford motor workers
from dagam so I can reach the minority
communities I can reach the working
class from all communities
what and B say about you do you think uh
well I I won a sensational Victory there
as you know in 2005 I took a seat off
one of Mr Blair's most famous uh uh MPS
King uh and it was about the war was it
with that play a part do you think yeah
because in what's happening now I almost
said which war because I I've almost
forgotten now we've been in so many
since and we're about to go into some
more I'm just that play out in London
politics I mean this election is not
just about the length of the
pedestrianization of Oxford Street
though that's important it may it may be
about whether or not you believe that we
should have uh get rid of pedicabs it
may be should we have the psycho Super
Highway you see London politics means
that people will vote for you depending
on what matters to them yeah it's but
but what War and Peace of course matters
to everybody not least because of the
terrorist threat which our Perpetual War
has conjured forth as I predicted that
it would including on your radio show
and so the danger that faces people in
London is one of the issues in this
election and I will be the best man to
protect londoners because I know where
this terrorism is coming from I know why
it's coming and I know how to tackle it
and how to face it so everything's
important Petty cabs uh Uber the length
of the pedestrianization of Ox Street
how did how did you get here tonight I
came back car cuz I'm going on to the
East End afterwards so are you a bus a
tube user you ride a bike here in London
all of the above my wife I can't imagine
you riding a bik oh I'll show you the
pictures not that I'll show I'll show
you the pictures my wife is from
Amsterdam she's my cycling adviser
Amsterdam's very big on cycling we're
really that's why I'm bringing in the
truck and heavy vehicle plan to save the
cyclists George we'll talk again coming
towards May the four but I would like
you uh to do what I've asked everybody
to do to give me 30 seconds now and why
George Galloway
uh should be the next mayor of London
well London needs a leader not a reader
I'll employ other people to do the
reading the policy wonking what London
needs is a champion for the majority
this city is exceptionally rich but it
has to be a London for all not just for
those dripping in Gold I've got more
experience than all the other candidates
put together almost 30 years in
Parliament and prominent in politics
even before going into Parliament I
think a big figure is what London needs
George Galloway thank you very much as
the respect parties George Galloway
stating his claim for mayor of London of
course those elections Happ May the 4th