Why the end of George Galloway's Respect Party could spark a new crisis for Jeremy Corbyn

Respect recruits might enable Labour to pile up bigger majorities in its safe seats but would be unlikely to enhance its prospects in Tory-held marginals

Last year Jeremy Corbyn stated that he was not in favour of letting George Galloway back into Labour – but will that change now his Respect Party has been deregistered? (Getty)

The party is over for Respect, the anti-war, anti-Blair party launched by George Galloway in 2004 after his expulsion from Labour.

Respect rode the wave of the huge public opposition to the Iraq War. So its decision to deregister as a party, coming soon after the long-delayed Chilcot inquiry into the intervention and its aftermath, is another welcome sign that we are finally moving on from the Iraq disaster.

Respect’s last hurrah was to campaign for a Leave vote in the EU referendum, but the party was always seen as the sideshow of a one-man firebrand. Galloway held the Bethnal Green and Bow seat for five years but won only 1.4 per cent of the votes in the London Mayoral election in May.

The reality is that there is no space or raison d’etre for Respect while Labour is led by Jeremy Corbyn. He has apologised on behalf of his party for the Iraq conflict and instinctively adopts an open-door policy to those to the left of Labour who want to migrate to the party – many of whom walked out during the years when it was led by Tony Blair.

Readmitting those on the outside left is controversial for Corbyn’s critics. Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, has claimed that a small number of Trotskyists have revived the entryism of the Militant Tendency, which saw their leaders expelled in the 1980s; Corbyn never wanted them kicked out in the first place.

A petition against Galloway’s readmission by Labour has already been launched. Its organisers point out that Respect committed the cardinal sin of standing against Labour in elections. They want a “Keep Out” sign erected for Respect, but fear that Corbyn will prefer to brandish a “Keep Left” sign instead.

If, as is widely expected, Corbyn sees off Owen Smith’s leadership challenge and is re-elected next month, he would enjoy greater numerical strength on Labour’s national executive committee (NEC) following recent elections. It is the NEC that would rule on whether to allow Galloway and his remaining followers back into the Labour fold.

If they were admitted, it would be seen as another shift to the left by Corbyn’s internal opponents, another sign that Labour is splitting up while still living under the same roof.

Some Corbynistas would be happy about the prospect of reuniting the left. But their Labour enemies would be appalled, arguing that party should be growing support among centre-ground floating voters won over by the Conservatives rather than preaching to the already converted.

It is a good thing that Labour membership has doubled under Corbyn and is now the biggest party in Europe. However, under our antiquated first-past-the-post system, gaining some Respect recruits might enable Labour to pile up bigger majorities in its safe seats but would be unlikely to enhance its prospects in the Tory-held marginals the party needs to win again to have any hope of regaining power.

After all, Sadiq Khan – who has come out for Owen Smith, warning that Corbyn is leading Labour to electoral disaster – won 1.1million first-preference votes in the Mayoral contest in May; Galloway secured just 37,000.