George Galloway will not be standing to replace Andy Burnham as the mayor for Greater Manchester, despite saying he was going to.
Last month the leader of the Workers Party said he would be standing to replace Mr Burnham, who stepped down from his role after successfully winning the Makerfield by-election.
However, Mr Galloway’s candidacy in the mayoral by-election was dependent on assurances from the government he would not be detained again.
The former Celebrity Big Brother contestant is currently living outside of the UK in self-imposed exile after being held at Gatwick Airport by counter-terrorism police in September.
The Workers Party asked for, but did not receive government reassurance
The Workers Party say they did not receive these assurances and believe there could be an incoming general election. The political party did not field a candidate at all in the Greater Manchester mayoral election being fought on July 30.
A Workers Party spokesperson said:
As our June 19 statement explained, George’s candidacy rested on many factors; not least an undertaking from the British State not to use counter-terrorism legislation to seize him should he return to Britain. No undertaking has been received.
The Burnham Bounce factor, coupled with Labour’s decision to force an immediate contest, gives other parties including ourselves no time to prepare for the fight and the campaign in the middle of summer with a vote during school summer holidays.
For that reason we have not entered a candidate. The Burnham Coronation is imminent, a win for Labour in Manchester may tempt them to call an early General Election.
In light of this the Workers Party has reopened our application process and is inviting prospective parliamentary candidates to register with us as soon as possible.
A surprise twist as Galloway was known to covet the mayoral position
This is a surprise twist as the experienced politician has been eyeing up the Greater Manchester mayoral job for years. Back in 2024 he hinted he would go for the mayor job when the term was originally due to end in 2028.
In a post on X on June 19 declaring his candidacy, the former Rochdale MP said:
Labour under Starmer are apparently running so scared of losing the position they are planning the election for July 30, the dog days of summer in the middle of the summer holidays.
I have today asked my lawyers to seek from the Starmer government the assurance that I will be allowed by them to fight the election and not held, again, by armed police officers under the Terrorism Act at the airport.
What else can I do, fight a British election from China?
Mr Galloway served as an MP for five different constituencies during his parliamentary career spanning across five decades – most recently Rochdale. He represented Glasgow Hillhead and Glasgow Kelvin for Labour in parliament from 1987 until 2003 when he was expelled and became an independent.
He went on to lead the Respect Party, representing Bethnal Green and Bow between 2005 and 2010 before taking the Bradford West in a by-election in 2012 – where he served for three years.
Questioned at Gatwick Airport in 2025
In 2025 Mr Galloway and his wife were stopped and questioned (but not arrested) by counter terrorism police at Gatwick Airport, where Mr Galloway had to hand over his laptop and phone for examination. Mr Galloway was not given a reason, but did point out that he resides in Russia, was to give a speech that would be attended by the Chinese ambassador to the UK, and that his wife had the Palestinian colours painted on one of her fingernails. Mr Galloway was questioned ofr four hours, his wife five hours.
After a press release by Local Democracy Reporter George Lythgoe.
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