Iraq war delivers victory to Galloway

As George Galloway was carried triumphantly through Brick Lane on the shoulders of his supporters yesterday, the Muslim community of the East End was waking up to the news that it had helped inflict one of the most spectacular defeats on the Labour Party.

As George Galloway was carried triumphantly through Brick Lane on the shoulders of his supporters yesterday, the Muslim community of the East End was waking up to the news that it had helped inflict one of the most spectacular defeats on the Labour Party.

Less than two hours earlier, after a tense and protracted count at Canary Wharf, Mr Galloway had been declared the new MP for Bethnal Green and Bow.

The victory for Mr Galloway - expelled by Labour for his opposition to the Iraq conflict - came at the end of an often acrimonious and sometimes violent campaign. Standing on a strong anti-war ticket - under the banner of the Respect party - he defeated the sitting, pro-war, Blairite incumbent, Oona King, by just 823 votes, overturning her comfortable 10,000 majority and creating one of the major upsets of the 2005 election.

His win appeared entirely down to overwhelming anti-war sentiment among the largely Bangladeshi community, which makes up the bulk of the 45,000-strong Muslim population and accounts for about half the electorate. Moderate Muslim bodies welcomed the vote, which underlined the erosion of support, because of the war, among a section of the population that had always sided with Labour.

Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "The election in Bethnal Green was always going to be a close call but we recognise that Mr Galloway is an enormously popular figure, outspoken and passionate, among Muslims, who agreed with his views on Iraq. It would have been a loss to Parliament if he had not won.'' The election, he said, had been a watershed for British Muslims. "Iraq has made many people feel disenfranchised and they have tried to regain their political voice. The Muslim community is now more politicised than ever.''

Mr Galloway launched an attack on Tony Blair, saying: "This defeat is for Iraq and the other defeats that New Labour has received this evening are for Iraq. All the people you have killed and all the loss of life have come back to haunt you and the best thing the Labour Party can do is sack you tomorrow morning.''