1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:05,359 He's been on the political scene for 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:07,359 nearly 20 years. First as a Labour MP 3 00:00:05,359 --> 00:00:08,960 and then as leader of the Respect Party 4 00:00:07,359 --> 00:00:11,040 for whom he won a sensational 5 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:14,080 bi-election victory in Bradford West 6 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:15,679 back in 2012. He lost that seat in the 7 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,320 election this month. And now George 8 00:00:15,679 --> 00:00:20,240 Galloway has announced his next move. He 9 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,840 will stand for Mayor of London. He joins 10 00:00:20,240 --> 00:00:24,800 me now in the 11 00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:26,080 studio. George Galloway, thanks for 12 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:27,199 coming in this evening. Now, when I 13 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:29,119 heard that you were standing for mayor 14 00:00:27,199 --> 00:00:31,599 of London, I thought when a door closes 15 00:00:29,119 --> 00:00:33,760 somewhere, a window opens. Why mayor? 16 00:00:31,599 --> 00:00:37,200 Well, I was in parliament for almost 30 17 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:38,879 years. In fact, uh um I was very much 18 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:41,440 hoping that there would be a hung 19 00:00:38,879 --> 00:00:43,680 parliament in which an individual member 20 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:46,559 can make a difference. There wasn't a 21 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:48,960 hung parliament and I wasn't reelected. 22 00:00:46,559 --> 00:00:50,719 But I had expressed uh an interest in 23 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:53,199 running for mayor of London over the 24 00:00:50,719 --> 00:00:55,600 last couple of years. It became clear 25 00:00:53,199 --> 00:00:58,000 and it's become abundantly clear in the 26 00:00:55,600 --> 00:01:00,320 last 24 hours that there's a lot of 27 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:03,039 support there. More than 13,000 people 28 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:05,040 have already signed up to my campaign in 29 00:01:03,039 --> 00:01:08,720 less than 24 hours. I don't know what 30 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:11,520 the email traffic is now. Uh because 31 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:14,320 people want a mayor who's a bit larger 32 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:17,000 than life, an independent-minded person, 33 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:19,360 not a creature of the party political 34 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:21,119 machines. And that's true elsewhere in 35 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,280 the world also. It's true in New York. 36 00:01:21,119 --> 00:01:24,880 It's true in Barcelona. It has been true 37 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:26,400 in London in the shape of Boris Johnson. 38 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:28,000 Right. Do are you sort of setting 39 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,600 yourself up as the alternative Boris 40 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,200 Johnson? Well, there's only been two 41 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,200 mayors, Ken Livingston and Boris 42 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:35,360 Johnson, and both of them fit that 43 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:38,159 criteria that I just outlined. They 44 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:41,479 neither was a party machine creature. 45 00:01:38,159 --> 00:01:43,520 Both were independent-minded people, 46 00:01:41,479 --> 00:01:46,640 personalities with some leadership 47 00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:49,200 qualities. And the mainstream parties 48 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:52,399 have to know that if they put forward 49 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:54,399 mundane mediocre candidates and hope to 50 00:01:52,399 --> 00:01:57,200 have the three cheeks of the same 51 00:01:54,399 --> 00:02:00,000 backside uh dominate the election that 52 00:01:57,200 --> 00:02:02,320 they've got another thing coming. Um the 53 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:04,560 potential Labor candidates it it include 54 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:06,560 a list of fairly powerful London 55 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,479 politicians, people like Diane Abbert, 56 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:11,120 David Lammy who've represented London 57 00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:13,599 constituencies for years and years. Why 58 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:14,879 are you better than they are? Uh well, I 59 00:02:13,599 --> 00:02:18,640 don't think they'll be the Labor 60 00:02:14,879 --> 00:02:21,160 candidates. Uh the um thinking is that 61 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:23,360 Dame Tessa Jou will be the Labor 62 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:25,520 candidate, the woman who said she'd 63 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:28,239 throw herself under a bus for Tony 64 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:30,480 Blair. So, I think I won't have a lot of 65 00:02:28,239 --> 00:02:33,760 difficulty persuading traditional Labor 66 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:36,560 voters that I'm more labor than she is. 67 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:38,080 a big supporter of the Iraq war who 68 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,959 proitized 69 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:44,400 uh around the capital in favor of that 70 00:02:40,959 --> 00:02:46,640 war and is a dedicated Blerite. I don't 71 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:49,680 think that Diane Abbott or David Lame 72 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:52,319 are at the races. It's between Tessa Jou 73 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:54,800 and Sadi Khan who was Ed Milliban's 74 00:02:52,319 --> 00:02:57,200 right-hand man until Ed Milliban fell 75 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:58,959 off his horse uh just three weeks ago. 76 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:00,959 Do people do Londoners vote for a mayor 77 00:02:58,959 --> 00:03:02,879 on those kind of bases though? Aren't 78 00:03:00,959 --> 00:03:04,959 they more looking at what you'd do for 79 00:03:02,879 --> 00:03:07,120 London? Um, one of the things that you 80 00:03:04,959 --> 00:03:08,720 said you'd do is merge the Met Police 81 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,000 and the City of London Police if you 82 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,680 became mayor. What What What's the 83 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,239 thinking behind? Well, the Metropolitan 84 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:16,720 Police Service needs to be a London 85 00:03:14,239 --> 00:03:18,879 police force. Policing is not a service. 86 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:20,720 It's a force. But it must be a force for 87 00:03:18,879 --> 00:03:23,120 all of London, including the whitest of 88 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:25,280 callers. The City of London Police, 89 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:28,159 which is supposed to police the square 90 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:30,239 mile where all the banks and financiers 91 00:03:28,159 --> 00:03:32,319 hang out, might be good at catching 92 00:03:30,239 --> 00:03:34,640 pickpockets in Liverpool Street Station, 93 00:03:32,319 --> 00:03:37,680 but they were oblivious, it would 94 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:40,000 appear, to the grand lararseny involving 95 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:42,480 hundreds of millions of pounds that went 96 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:44,879 missing on their watch in the financial 97 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:47,360 crash, the financial malfeence and 98 00:03:44,879 --> 00:03:49,360 recklessness that was going on there. 99 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:51,599 That's a big blemish on London's 100 00:03:49,360 --> 00:03:54,480 reputation and a cause of much 101 00:03:51,599 --> 00:03:58,319 divisiveness in London. You can't have a 102 00:03:54,480 --> 00:04:01,680 square mile where the 1% hang out who 103 00:03:58,319 --> 00:04:03,760 are dripping in gold whilst millions of 104 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,840 ordinary Londoners are pushed further 105 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:07,040 and further to the edge. All right, 106 00:04:05,840 --> 00:04:10,879 George Galloway, thank you very much for 107 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:10,879 coming in to talk to us this evening.