GEORGE Galloway’s pledge to hand over unspent cash from his failed 2019 General Election campaign to food banks is under scrutiny, after one in the constituency said it hadn’t received any donation.
The Unionist All for Unity founder, who is now standing in the Batley and Spen by-election in an attempt to punish Keir Starmer’s Labour, ran for the West Bromwich East seat in 2019.
In the July of that year Galloway set up a GoFundMe crowdfunder for the effort, pledging that “all unspent monies will be distributed to local food banks”.
By the end of the year the former MP had raised more than £24,000. An investigation by Insider found Galloway spent £8749 during his campaign, suggesting a surplus of up to £15,000.
READ MORE: George Galloway’s interview on The Nine was hilarious
Galloway told the publication that his team “spent most of the money we raised in the West Bromwich election”.
When asked whether he gave surplus cash to local food banks as he pledged, he said: “I don’t know what happened in West Brom.”
Keith Turner, the co-ordinator of West Bromwich Food Bank, told the publication: “The West Brom food bank has never received a donation of any amount from Mr Galloway.”
Labour chair Anneliese Dodds said the story shows Galloway’s “priority is trying to take people for fools and trying to raise money to boost his ego wherever he can”.
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