George Galloway contests London byelection from abroad

George Galloway is contesting the Holborn and St Pancras parliamentary seat without having visited the constituency or the United Kingdom since the byelection campaign commenced. The leader of the Workers party of Britain has spent recent weeks on a speaking tour in South Africa, with recent social media posts indicating he is currently in Shanghai, China. Prior to this, he was in Moscow.

Mr Galloway has described his absence from the UK as "self-exile". This follows an incident a year ago when he and his wife were questioned by counter-terrorism police at Gatwick airport upon their return from Russia. He stated that officers asked him about his admiration for Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Campaigning remotely

Social media feeds show Workers party activists campaigning in the Holborn and St Pancras constituency in Mr Galloway's absence. He posted on social media at the end of September expressing gratitude to his campaigners, stating: "We can win this. And me and my family can come home."

Mr Galloway has used social media to communicate his campaign messages. He wrote on X in mid-September: "The biggest issue in the H&StP byelection is the path leading us to WW3 in Ukraine." He has also drawn contrasts with other candidates, posting on 25 September: "I am with Russia Zack is with NATO. I am with an end to the war in Ukraine Zack is with Zelensky and risking WW3."

Electoral law and personal circumstances

Britain's electoral law allows any British, Irish, or qualifying Commonwealth citizen over 18 to stand for parliament, provided they are not bankrupt or members of certain public services. There is no requirement for candidates to be registered electors or to reside in the UK, according to the Electoral Commission.

In September, Mr Galloway revealed that his bank accounts had been closed by Bank of Scotland. He posted on 4 September: "Thirty-nine years ago I opened a personal bank account with Bank of Scotland in Byres Rd Glasgow. Yesterday without explanation or notice they closed my accounts." A spokesperson for Bank of Scotland stated that the bank does not close accounts based on political or personal beliefs.

Mr Galloway was stopped at Gatwick airport with his wife, Putri Gayatri Pertiwi, after returning from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. He stated they were detained for 11 hours by police. The stop occurred under schedule 3 of the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019, which allows police to detain individuals to assess if they have engaged in hostile activity.

In March this year, Mr Galloway told broadcaster RT that officers had copied data from their phones. He had previously hosted a talkshow for RT for nine years until Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In March, he described himself as "now in exile in the east".