The political party founded and fronted by veteran politician George Galloway will field a candidate in Putney at the general election.
In a post on Twitter/X, Richmond resident Hassan Chahine announced his candidacy alongside a message accusing Labour leader Keir Starmer of having “sold his soul” to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Chahine’s position as an official candidate for Putney was acknowledged later that day by the Workers Party of Britain in a response tweet, although his name has yet to be added to the party’s official list of candidates.
Chahine describes himself as an independent journalist working for online news site Falastine, which focuses on events in the Middle East. As with Galloway, Chahine has a public focus on issues surrounding Palestine and foreign affairs, with frequent negative critiques of leading politicians.
In one recent post, Chahine called Kier Starmer an “expert In lying, backstabber and consciousless” and in a video called prime minister Rishi Sunak a hypocrite who is “complicit in murders”.
Workers Party of Britain
The Workers Party of Britain was set up by Galloway in 2019 in response to the Labour Party’s result in the general election of that year and the subsequent resignation of its leader Jeremy Corbyn. It was originally formed in order to “defend the achievements of the USSR, China, Cuba etc” but in recent months has campaigned heavily on the issue of the Israel-Hamas war.
The party put up more than 40 candidates in the local elections in England in 2021 but failed to win a seat. It was more successful in the local elections this month, winning four council seats with 33 candidates. That success followed Galloway’s election to Parliament in February this year in a by-election in Rochdale. Two of the four successful council candidates this month are also in Rochdale.
Both Galloway and his party are hoping to capitalise on widespread public anger over the Israeli-Hamas war currently taking place in Palestine, which both the Conservative government and Labour opposition have taken a careful, diplomatic approach to.
Galloway has also made active criticism of Labour leader Keir Starmer a key part of his campaigning; a position often reflected by Workers Party of Britain candidates. Last month, Galloway said that the party hoped to put up a candidate in every seat in the UK, claiming that 500 candidates had already been selected.
There are currently 170 candidates for the 650 constituencies listed on the Workers Party of Britain website as candidates, although 12 of them are listed as independents that the party will “support”. By far the largest number (58) are based in London. Hassan Chahine is not yet on the list, which was last updated on 30 April.
Galloway has said the party will focus on targeting Labour seats, and described the Labour Party as “the number one enemy because we seek to replace them”. In the 2019 general election, Putney was the only constituency that the Labour Party won that it didn’t already hold.
Speaking at the announcement of former England cricketer Monty Panesar as a candidate for Ealing Southall two weeks ago, Galloway argued that the Workers Party of Britain “will have the same impact on Labour that Farage and the Reform party are likely to have on the Conservatives.” He went on: “We will win seats, but in potentially hundreds of seats, we will materially affect the results.”
One week after the event, however, Panesar withdrew his candidacy, announcing that he needed “more time to listen, learn and find my political home, one that aligns with my personal and political values.”
Update 8 June: Hassan Chahine was not selected by the Workers Party to run for the Putney constituency, the official candidate list has revealed. Instead, its representatives will be Heiko Khoo.
