"we stand up for the working people."
Former England cricketer Monty Panesar will stand for the Workers Party of Britain at the General Election.
George Galloway told LBC that he will unveil 200 candidates for his party outside Parliament on April 30, 2024.
This included Panesar, who he said will be a candidate for Southall.
Galloway told LBC presenter Nick Ferrari:
“I’ll present 200 of them outside Parliament this afternoon, including – you’ll like this – Monty Panesar, the ace Indian cricketer, former England international cricketer, who will be our candidate in Southall.
“Monty, of course, was a great left-arm spinner and so we could do with him.”
On what he thought was attracting people to his party, Galloway said:
“The reality is that we are Labour shorn of identity politics, infatuation with race and gender, wokery and greenery and quackery, we are the real deal.
“We do what we say on the tin, we stand up for the working people.”
The former Labour MP has been back in Parliament since February’s by-election in Rochdale.
After the result in February 2024, Galloway told LBC:
“If I was I wouldn’t be telling LBC.
“But there is a problem, and far more important is the risk to the seats of Labour candidates at a General Election – dozens if not scores of them, from the political movement that will eliminate out of here [Rochdale].”
He set up the Workers Party of Britain in 2019.
Monty Panesar confirmed that he would be standing as an MP for the party and stated that he is sick of watching the “average Joe” in society struggle the most under Conservative and Labour leaderships.
He added that “it is time for a change”.
Panesar told Daily Mail: “They are not getting fair treatment and I’m tired of seeing the poorest people in the country being affected the most.
“They are people and their voices are not being heard.
“I want to stand for the working class people, the workers of our country, to make their lives easier.”
“I am confident I will win and I’m looking forward to it.”
On what drew him to the political party, he argued that both Labour and the Conservatives were simply “not helping”, and instead were pushing “the gap between the rich and the poor” making it “bigger and bigger”.
Since retiring from county cricket, Monty Panesar has studied sports journalism and has been working as a freelance journalist and writer.
He is expected to be among the speakers at an event hosted by campaign group Show Racism the Red Card in Parliament today.
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