GEORGE Galloway’s Unionist party has fallen apart after the former MP continued to present on the Kremlin-linked RT following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
All for Unity (A4U) were formed by Galloway and Jamie Blackett ahead of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, with a fervent anti-independence, anti-referendum position.
Candidates for the list-only party made headlines for sharing posts comparing the SNP to Nazis and branding First Minister Nicola Sturgeon a “fascist dictator”.
The party failed to make any breakthroughs at the May election, and did not win a single seat from their 0.9% of the regional vote.
Following A4U’s flop, Galloway turned his attention away from stopping Scottish independence and towards fighting the Batley and Spen by-election with his left-wing Workers Party.
Since 2019, Galloway has been the presenter of The Mother of All Talk Shows on the Russian-owned Radio Sputnik channel. He also contributes to Kremlin-linked RT.
In the midst of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Galloway continued to appear on and create content on these platforms. In a statement, he said the invasion of the country was not “what I wanted to see”, but blamed it on “pumping Ukraine full of Nato weapons”.
In a series of tweets, A4U’s former leader Blackett, an Eton-educated former soldier, accused Galloway of making comments that were “wrong and counter-productive” regarding the invasion, and explained that the party would be disbanding.
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“There have been questions about my and @Alliance4Unity's reaction to events in Ukraine,” he wrote to his followers. “Personally I condemn Putin's illegal invasion and stand squarely behind the Prime Minister's efforts to support Ukraine. A4U does not have and never has had a foreign policy/defence view.
“A4U was set up as a v broad alliance of people from across the political spectrum to counter separatism in Scotland. I do not speak for @georgegalloway and GG does not speak for me on issues unrelated to Scottish domestic politics.
“But I am aware that his view of events is very different from mine. I believe some of his comments have been wrong and counter-productive. And therefore, in order to make it absolutely clear that I disagree, our alliance is at an end.”
Blackett said he and Galloway had enjoyed common causes despite their political differences, including on their desire to expose “Anglophobia” in Scotland and the alleged “Ulsterisation of Scotland”.
He said A4U would continue as “a loose alliance of those who oppose the ugly nationalism of Nicola Sturgeon and her followers”.
The news was welcomed by Scottish Conservative MSP for the Central Scotland region Stephen Kerr, who used the opportunity to promote his own political aims.
Kerr tweeted: “As Alliance4Unity falls apart after almost letting the SNP into a majority and letting Greens slip in on the list, your reminder that the best pro-UK voice remains the @ScotTories.”
The work of A4U may be filled by that of the Scottish Unionist Party, which recently registered with the Electoral Commission with the intention of standing in Holyrood and Westminster votes – but not the upcoming local government election.
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