‘More time to learn’: Ashes hero drops out of race for UK parliament
London: Ashes hero Monty Panesar has dramatically quit as a candidate for UK Parliament just a week after announcing he would contest the next election for George Galloway’s Workers Party.
Panesar, a spin bowler who played 50 cricket Tests for England between 2006 and 2013, announced last week that he wanted to stand as a candidate to “represent the working-class people of this country”.
Leader of the Workers Party of Britain George Galloway (right) looks on as former England cricketer Monty Panesar (centre) addresses fellow party candidates in Parliament Square.
He was going to contest the Ealing Southall seat in west London, which was held by Labour with a primary vote of more than 60 per cent.
But after a series of gaffes in UK media appearances, he has now said he will no longer contest the seat.
“I realise I need more time to listen, learn and find my political home, one that aligns with my personal and political values,” he said in a statement on social media.
“I’m a proud Brit who has had the honour to represent my country at the highest level of cricket. I now want to do my bit to help others but I recognise I am at the beginning of my journey and still learning about how politics can help people.”
Panesar met Galloway, a veteran left-wing firebrand politician threatening to inflame tensions in the UK parliament over Israel’s offensive in Gaza, for the first time at his unveiling as a candidate for the party he briefly represented.
He admitted he had never voted and said that he was motivated by a desire to close the gap between rich and poor, adding that he felt Labour no longer represented working-class people.
“I wish The Workers Party all the best, but I look forward to taking some time to mature and find my political feet so I am well-prepared to deliver my very best when I next run up to the political wicket,” he said in his statement.
A prominent anti-war politician and former Labour MP, Galloway was expelled from the party in 2003 over comments relating to the Iraq war.
Since then, he has twice ousted a Labour MP while standing for a third party. On both occasions, in Bethnal Green in London and in Bradford in northern England, he ran on campaigns focused on his opposition to the Iraq war.
Monty Panesar celebrates the wicket of Ricky Ponting with Paul Collingwood a One Day International Series match between Australia and England in Melbourne in 2007.
While Panesar said his candidacy was driven by domestic issues, he faced extensive questioning about international policies during his week in the limelight, linking his party’s wish to leave NATO, a military alliance between the US and Europe, as a way to curb illegal immigration.
He then confessed he was “not an expert on foreign policy” when questioned about Workers Party policies on Gaza.
In Australia, Panesar was best known for his rearguard batting with James Anderson at Cardiff in the 2009 Ashes, which helped England to draw the first Test of a series they went on to win 2-1.
He retired as England’s sixth-leading wicket-taker among spin bowlers and finished playing professionally in 2016.
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