Oh here goes again!
George Galloway was an elected member of the Labour Party and has a long record of defeating electorally his opponents including Roy Jenkins and Oona King.
There are several reasons why he is hated in the media and his pro soviet stance are not amonst them.
He is hated because he openly supports the cause of a free Palestine .Secondly he is a hated figure because he is an outspoken opponent of American imperialism in particular its invasion of Iraq and its threatened attack on Iran.
The SWP has always called the old soviet regime a state capitalist country where the workers had no control and were exploited and oppressed by its rulers like Stalin.The Trotskists were among the first to be sent to the Gulags in their thousands after opposing Stalin's policies and rule.
However,soviet rule in Russia ended in 1989 and Galloway has proved to be a most vocal and able opponent of the pro war hawks both in London and Washington.We saw that when he demolished the warhawks in the US senate and we have seen it in Britain as his enemies try to drag him down with false charges.
Socialist Worker supported him during the past years not because of his views on the Soviet Union but because he has tried to oppose the slaughter in Iraq and the oppression of Palestiniansin in Gaza and on the West Bank.
The split between the SWP and Galloway can be further revealed through the websites I mentioned above but whatever those problems the role of Respect is going to continue as an alternative to the pro war and neo liberal policies of New Labour.
david