Respect resignations

international | miscellaneous | other press Sunday March 05, 2006 01:53 by Newsnite

Two Respect Councillors resign

Two Respect local election candidates in the Tower Hamlets area, Mustaque Ahmed and Dr Shamsuddin Ahmed have resigned and joined the Liberal Democrats! Mustaque Ahmed announced his resignation in an email to Respect members.
"I wish to resign from the Respect party immediately because I feel this is not the party for me or my community.
"My understanding is that the MP for Bethnal Green and Bow [George Galloway] has hoodwinked the constituency and does not nor ever intended to represent these people. His only intention is and was to represent himself and his own interests. I feel let down, disgusted and angry at the way this party is run. Many people like me are disillusioned by Respect and people in it."
Commenting on the internal regime in Respect Mustaque Ahmed said "Respect should be run on a democratic basis. But it’s John Rees [SWP leader] and his henchmen who are running the party. The Bengali officers have no real role. I was the vice-chair, but I didn’t have any role. I was never consulted on anything." Anyone who is familiar with how the SWP operates will not be surprised by these undemocratic methods.
Mustaque Ahmed and Dr Shamsuddin Ahmed will now probably stand as Liberal Democrat candidates. The SWP need to answer the question, why did they support the selection of two candidates who could so easily switch from Respect to the Liberal Democrats? What do these resignations indicate about what type of party Respect is and its politics and the class make up of its membership?