House of Commons stormy scenes - George Galloway/Michael Lord

[danlfc1983]

I did a little research, this was on 17th December 1998.

[brett18uk]

Um, actually you are wrong @danlfc. I work in Parliament, so trust me :-) Labour are very much on the Opposition benches in this clip.

[Oban277]

@brett18uk Labour are the government. Some are addressing points of order to the chair from the opposition benches even though they are members of the government. It is 1998. Labour came to power in 1997. Another clue is that Michael Lord only became a Deputy Speaker after 1997 when Labour had won. He was never a Deputy Speaker when Labour were in opposition. Michael Morris, Sir Geoffrey and Dame Janet were :-))

[HelmutVillam]

This man should have never entered British politics, he's a childish bigot.

[danlfc1983]

This is not 1998, Labour here are on the opposition side of the house. This is before 1997

[Oban277]

@danlfc1983 Your error is understandable but it is 1998. Members such as George Galloway were so annoyed that they decided to contribute from the opposition benches. Dennis Canavan is Labour at this point and he is speaking from the Government benches. It was a form of protest by some government members who wanted a vote on military action. Hope that clarifies the date :-)

[danlfc1983]

@Oban277 Thanks for the clarification :)

[Oban277]

@danlfc1983 it's not pre-1997. Michael Lord was only a Deputy Speaker after Tony Blair became PM. It is a form of protest by Labour MPs who are unhappy they had been denied any form of vote on military action

[danlfc1983]

@Oban277 Thanks for clarifying that for me :)

[JacktheBeard]

Why was George Galloway on the Opposition benches? He was still a Labour MP then I think and Labour were in power since 1997.

[fleemonstay]

@JacktheBeard He was standing an an independent, under the name of the party of Respect, I think?

[JacktheBeard]

@fleemonstay I thought he was kicked out of the Labour Party after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but maybe the video description is wrong and this isn't 1998.

[fleemonstay]

@JacktheBeard Well it's got to be wrong then, it cant be 1998 because it was 2001 when the Twin Towers were hit.

[JacktheBeard]

@fleemonstay Well Iraq was bombed in 1998 by the US and UK (Operation Desert Fox), easy to forget about that with all that's happened in recent years. So this video could be about that and George Galloway does look young. But that still doesn't explain why he was on the opposition benches.

[fleemonstay]

@JacktheBeard I didn't know about that, 1997 being the first vote I was eligible for, well perhaps the dates are correct. The speaker is a giveaway, maybe he defected on the issue?

Who cares, it's only Galloway, nobody liked him.

[undercoverbrother67]

@fleemonstay Elected to the House of Commons 5 times. Nobody liked him? How many times have you been elected as a parliamentary representative?

[fleemonstay]

@undercoverbrother67 Sure and Nick Clegg got elected, do they have a majority? You may praise his indefatigability, you may be impressed with his terrestrial TV roles, but I for one am not. So what if he's a lifer, he's nothing but a white collar dole scrounger, an irritant and no, I don't think many did like him.

What exactly did he achieve in 23 years and five elections, a pink suit on Big Brother and a laughing stock in the house.

See sense man.

[danlfc1983]

I wish GG was still an MP

[smezec]

This is amazing.

[westernise]

This clip got my blood not least because Sir Tony Benn was snubbed. Moreover, I'm with Galloway on this one, his voice was heard above all others because he was just on this occasion. The House of Commons had in my view indeed been abused and mocked for engaging in dark arts.

[GalacticMuppet]

@westernise You mean "Tony Benn". Sorry to pick you up on this but fact that you added 'Sir' to his name means you don't know Tony Benn very well... :/ (see the Commonwealth of Britain Bill 1991).

[ceredigio]

Interesting to note that most of the 'awkward squad' members who were against military action (Jeremy Corbyn, Tam Dalyell, Tony Benn et al) are on the Opposition side of the House in this clip! Dennis Canavan is not tho.