Former Labour MP George Galloway said he’s prepared to work with the Tories if it means ending the SNP’s grip on power at next year’s Holyrood election.
The left-wing firebrand believes his new Alliance for Unity can return several MSPs in 2021 due to voters' disillusionment with the big pro-Union parties, who he claims have become “anonymous”.
Galloway, who said he has a home in the Borders, intends to stand as a list candidate in the South of Scotland region at an election that current polling suggests the SNP will win by a landslide.
He told the Sunday Mail: “We’ve got only one goal – to get the SNP out.”
The controversial politician added: “If we don’t get off this hamster wheel, this neverendum, we’ll never have normal politics in Scotland. Everything will be down to grudge and division.
“I’ll work with everybody to get the SNP out of power because they have been a disaster for Scotland for 13 long years of misrule.
“More importantly than that, their only purpose is to break up the country – and my belief is the majority of people don’t want that.
“But we’re locked into this endless, tedious and increasingly fractious politics of nationalism and grudge.
“Whoever wins next year’s election should form a national coalition government whose first purpose is to repair relations between Scotland and the rest of Britain.”
He continued: “We don’t want a Tory or a Labour government.
“We want a national unity government that will begin this task of returning normality to Scottish politics.
“I’m against the SNP more than I’m against anyone else. That doesn’t mean I’m for anyone else.”
He launched his latest political venture earlier this month after being appalled at suggestions that the border between Scotland and England could be closed as part of quarantine measures to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Galloway refused to reveal who else would be joining him as an Alliance for Unity candidate – but claimed it would include “senior ex-Army officers, farmers and senior legal professionals.”
He served as MP for Glasgow Hillhead and its successor seat, Glasgow Kelvin, from 1987 to 2005.
But he was booted out of Labour in 2003 for his stringent opposition to the Iraq war and later formed the Respect party, for whom he won the Bethnal Green seat at the 2005 election.
Galloway went on to represent Bradford West after a by-election in 2012 but lost his seat in 2015.
A previous bid to enter the Scottish Parliament in 2011 ended in failure when he stood under an anti-cuts banner on the Glasgow list.
Asked if some Tory voters might be turned off casting their ballot for him given his political history, Galloway said: “If they are voting for me and my list, it’s only to oppose the SNP.
“Any other political differences we may have are secondary to our wish to see an end to this endless grudge and division. And, so far, I think there are quite a lot of takers for that.
“To win one seat, we’ll need about 16,000 votes but I think we’ll win far more than one in the south of Scotland – and there are many other parts of Scotland where we’ll do very well.”
Although Galloway remained coy about who the other candidates might be, the Alliance for Unity revealed on Twitter that writer and former soldier Jamie Blackett will join him on its South Scotland constituency list.
It said in a tweet on Thursday: “An outstanding public man already, Jamie would be a powerful tribune at Holyrood.”
A Tory spokesman said: “The Scottish Conservatives are happy to welcome anyone who’s passionate about keeping Scotland in the UK – even George Galloway.”
Galloway’s comments come after support for Scottish independence reached a record high of 54 per cent, according to an opinion poll earlier this month.
An SNP Spokesman said: “George sold out on his principles some time ago now.
“So it’ll come as no shock to voters he’s eager to jump back into bed with the Tories.
“Successive opinion polls have found that a majority of Scottish voters support independence.
“Until George wakes up to this fact, he’ll remain in the political wilderness where he belongs.”
