George Galloway to challenge election defeat

George Galloway says he’s challenging his brutal election defeat in the courts, after Labour challenger Naz Shah beat him by 11,000 votes.

The Respect leader announced the legal challenge on Twitter this evening, as his successor described the battle for the Bradford West constituency as a “nightmare”.

Galloway tweeted: “We’ve begun legal proceedings seeking to have result of the Bradford West election set aside.”He continued: “I cannot therefore discuss my own election for now.”

It’s not known which election he referred to in his Tweet, but he has hinted he’s planning to run for Mayor of London next year.He vowed to return to politics in his concession speech, saying he was leaving the count to plan his next campaign.

Galloway’s Respect Party was reported to the police on the night of the election, for a tweet which is alleged to have broken election law.The Bradford West candidate sent the tweet about exit polls before voting closed, which is banned.

Suzan Hemingway, acting returning officer, said: “We have reported a tweet by George Galloway to the police who are dealing with the issue.”It is understood that council officials were able to pass a screen grab of the tweet to police after a complaint was made. The tweet was later removed.

A respected Party spokesman said he had not been told about any complaint to police, adding: “It seems like a storm in a thimble.”