Editing Respect Party (section)

==History==

===Formation: 2004===
[[File:George Galloway.jpg|right|thumb|upright|[[George Galloway]] in September 2005]]
Respect emerged from the British anti-war movement which had developed from late 2001 onward.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=406}} The [[Stop the War Coalition]] (StWC) had been established in September 2001, with a central role being played by the [[Socialist Workers Party (UK)|Socialist Workers Party]] (SWP), which was then the largest radical left group in the UK.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=406}} The StWC's president was [[Tony Benn]], a [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] Member of Parliament (MP) until 2001, while it also gained the support of several rebel Labour MPs, among them [[Katy Clark]], [[Jeremy Corbyn]], [[Tam Dalyell]], [[Alice Mahon]], and George Galloway.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=406}} The StWC had also attracted significant support from within Britain's Muslim community, and the [[Muslim Association of Britain]] (MAB) officially affiliated itself with the coalition.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=406}} The movement politicised a large number of young British Muslims, among them [[Salma Yaqoob]], who became the head of the StWC branch in [[Birmingham]].{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=406}}

Galloway later revealed that, about a year before the UK and US launched the Iraq War, he had broached the subject of leaving Labour and establishing a new party with his friends [[Seumas Milne]] and [[Andrew Murray (trade unionist)|Andrew Murray]].{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=154}} At the time—he later stated—he was of the view that UK Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] and US President [[George W. Bush]] had already committed themselves to invading Iraq.{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=154}} Galloway was vocal in his opposition to Blair's calls for an invasion, and in May 2003 he was suspended from the Labour Party and then expelled in October, having been found to have brought it into disrepute.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=407}} He then announced that he would stand against Labour in the [[2004 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom|2004 European Parliament elections]], and that he would "seek to unify the red, green, anti-war, Muslim and other social constituencies radicalised by the war, in a referendum on Tony Blair".{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=407}}

The two main instigators of the party were Yaqoob and [[George Monbiot]], a journalist with ''[[The Guardian]]''.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=407}} They had been part of a discussion surrounding the unification of a broad range of anti-war forces that were to the left of Labour, a successor to the Socialist Alliance electoral list that had contested the [[2001 United Kingdom general election|2001 general election]].{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=407}} They wanted to reach out beyond the far left's traditional support base and gain support from peace activists and religious groups, particularly the Muslim community.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=407}} In November 2003, a number of public meetings were held under the title of "British Politics at the Crossroads", at which it was agreed that a new political party should be established.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=407}} At a convention on 24 January 2004, the party, titled "Respect – the Unity Coalition", was officially declared.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=407}} The name "RESPECT" was a [[contrived acronym]] for [[respect]], [[Social equality|equality]], [[socialism]], [[peace]], [[environmentalism]], [[community]], and [[trade unionism]].{{sfnm|1a1=Benedek|1y=2007|1p=160|2a1=Driver|2y=2011|2p=158|3a1=Peace|3y=2013a|3p=407}}<ref name="Spoon" /> Galloway said in April 2004: "Respect. It's a young word. It's a black word. It's the first postmodern name for an electoral political movement; most are one or other arrangement of the words The, Something, and Party. With respect, we're different."<ref>{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Tim |title='I've committed many sins' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/apr/25/interviews.iraq |access-date=4 April 2015 |work=The Observer |date=25 April 2004}}</ref> Opposition to the Iraq War was the party's primary issue, around which it galvanised much of its support.{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=154}}

{{multiple image
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| image1 = Salma yaqoob smiling.jpg
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| image2 = George Monbiot (cropped).jpg
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| footer = The founders of Respect: [[Salma Yaqoob]] (left) and [[George Monbiot]]
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At its foundation, the party also called for a halt to [[privatisation]] and the renationalisation of the British railways.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=407}} Although it did not secure the full backing of any major trade unions, some local branches of the [[National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers]] (RMT)—which had disaffiliated from Labour in February 2004—voted to support Respect.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=407}} Although containing members from both the SWP and MAB,{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=154}} Respect was not a formal coalition between the two groups.{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=154}} From the beginnings of Respect, there remained tension within the party between SWP members and Muslim leaders.{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=159}} This alliance was also criticised by some observers; in June 2004, the political commentator [[Nick Cohen]] wrote that "for the first time since the Enlightenment, a section of the left is allied with religious fanaticism and, for the first time since the Hitler-Stalin pact, a section of the left has gone soft on fascism."<ref>Nick Cohen [http://www.newstatesman.com/node/148131 "Saddam's very own party"], ''New Statesman'', 7 June 2004</ref>

Respect initially tried to form an electoral pact with the [[Green Party of England and Wales]] but this proved unsuccessful.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|pp=407–408}}<ref>Matthew Tempest [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/feb/17/iraq.iraq1 "Monbiot quits Respect over threat to Greens"], ''The Guardian'', 17 February 2004</ref> The Greens stated that they had selected their candidates for the 2004 European Parliamentary elections by postal ballot months previously and that they were also sceptical of the SWP's influence over Respect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/1008/l=7 |title=Greens regret attack by Galloway/SWP "Respect" party |access-date=23 April 2007 |year=2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070413142818/http://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/1008/l=7 |archive-date=13 April 2007}}</ref> After Respect decided to stand candidates against the Greens, Monbiot stepped down from the party in February 2004, claiming that to compete against the Greens might threaten the positions of "two of the best elected representatives in Britain", the Green [[Members of the European Parliament]] (MEPs) [[Caroline Lucas]] and [[Jean Lambert]].{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=408}}<ref name="Tempest 2004">{{cite web |last=Tempest |first=Matthew |title=Monbiot quits Respect over threat to Greens |url=http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/feb/17/iraq.iraq1 |website=The Guardian |date=17 February 2004 |access-date=18 February 2020}}</ref>

===Early electoral campaigns: 2004–05===
[[File:Respect ESF Fringe meeting.jpg|thumb|right|Respect fringe meeting at the 2004 [[European Social Forum]]]]
Respect fielded candidates for both the 2004 elections for the European Parliament (EP) and for the [[London Assembly]], attempting to present these elections as a referendum on Blair's Labour government.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=408}} The party claims that this support was achieved primarily as a result of the [[Protests against the 2003 Iraq war|anti-war protests]] and by attracting votes from "disillusioned" Labour voters.<ref name="BBC080604">{{cite news |title=Respect hope for election success |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3788125.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=8 June 2004 |access-date=23 April 2010}}</ref> The party was widely derided in the British media, which viewed Respect as a single-issue party that would soon disappear from British politics.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=408}}

Respect polled a quarter of a million votes in the EP election.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=408}} Its proportion of the national vote was 1.7%, which grew to 5% in London, although it failed to win any seats.{{sfn|Driver|2011|p=158}}<ref>{{cite news |last=German |first=Lindsey |title=Respect where it's due |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/jun/18/greenpolitics.uk |work=The Guardian |date=18 June 2004 |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> The strong showing of the Greens and the [[UK Independence Party]] had been part of the reason for this failure to secure a seat. In the London Assembly election, Respect secured 4.5% of the vote, meaning that they did not secure a seat on the Assembly.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|pp=408–409}} However, within both the [[London Borough of Newham]] and the [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets]]—both areas with large Muslim populations—Respect secured the largest number of votes, with over 20% in both.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=409}} Respect mocked [[Ken Livingstone]]'s Labour candidacy as the "Blair Mayor Project".<ref name="White2004">{{cite news|last=White|first=Michael|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/may/21/uk.otherparties|title=Galloway's team demands respect|work=The Guardian|date=21 May 2004|access-date=3 March 2016}}</ref>

Respect's first election victory was in the council by-election for the [[Stepney|St Dunstan's and Stepney Green]] ward of Tower Hamlets, where its candidate, Oliur Rahman, secured 31% of the vote.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=409}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Watt |first=Nicholas |author-link=Nicholas Watt |title=Respect wins seat in London borough |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/jul/31/uk.byelections |work=The Guardian |date=31 July 2004 |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> At the [[2004 Birmingham Hodge Hill by-election|Birmingham Hodge Hill]] and [[2004 Leicester South by-election|Leicester South by-elections]], both held on 15 July 2004, the party gained 6.3% and 12.7% of the vote respectively.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=409}} At the time, following defections from other parties, Respect had a council seat in [[Nuneaton]] and another in [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Mulholland |first=Hélène |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2004/jul/30/localgovernment.byelections |title=Anti-war coalition wins council seat |work=The Guardian |date=30 July 2004 |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

[[File:RESPECT Bus manchester.jpg|thumb|left|Respect campaigners decorating a bus in [[Manchester]] for the 2005 elections]]
The coalition put up candidates in 26 constituencies across England and Wales,{{sfnm|1a1=Driver|1y=2011|1p=158|2a1=Peace|2y=2013a|2pp=409–410}} just under half of them from the SWP.<ref>{{cite news |last=Aaronovitch |first=David |author-link=David Aaronovitch |title=How did the far Left manage to slip into bed with the Jew-hating Right? |url=https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/how-did-the-far-left-manage-to-slip-into-bed-with-the-jew-hating-right-766cbwpdqfd |work=[[The Times]] |location=London |date=25 June 2005 |access-date=27 February 2016}} {{subscription required}}</ref> However, Britain's [[first past the post]] electoral system made it difficult for small parties to make gains unless they geographically concentrated their vote.{{sfnm|1a1=Benedek|1y=2007|1p=159|2a1=Peace|2y=2013a|2p=415}} Respect recognised that East London, an area with large numbers of Muslim [[British Bangladeshis]], would be electorally lucrative, particularly as three of the area's four sitting Labour MPs had voted in favour of British participation in the invasion of Iraq.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=409}} At the [[2005 United Kingdom general election|2005 general election]] Respect fielded candidates in this area: Lindsey German in [[West Ham (UK Parliament constituency)|West Ham]], [[Abdul Khaliq Mian]] in [[East Ham (UK Parliament constituency)|East Ham]], Rahman in [[Poplar and Canning Town]], and Galloway in [[Bethnal Green and Bow (UK Parliament constituency)|Bethnal Green and Bow]].{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=409}}

Galloway sought to unseat the sitting Labour MP, [[Oona King]], and the ensuing campaign for the seat has been cited as "one of the most acrimonious in recent history". King accused Galloway of sexual impropriety, although was later forced to retract those allegations. She alleged that she had been the victim of [[antisemitism]] from Respect supporters after having been pelted with eggs at a Jewish memorial service.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=409}}{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=155}} She also claimed that Respect canvassers had urged Muslims not to vote for her because she is Jewish. Respect threatened legal action if King repeated the claim; John Rees, national secretary of Respect, said "George Galloway and everyone in Respect has a long record of fighting anti-semitism - longer I suspect than Oona King. This kind of rubbish is libellous. Oona King should be more cognisant of the dangers, having already paid out two sets of libel writs to George."<ref>Patrick Barkham [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/apr/12/uk.otherparties "MP accuses Galloway backers of anti-semitism"], ''The Guardian'', 12 April 2005</ref>

Respect won 0.3% of the national vote, with an average of 6.8% of the vote in the constituencies it had contested; 17 of its candidates failed to have their deposits returned.{{sfnm|1a1=Driver|1y=2011|1p=158|2a1=Peace|2y=2013a|2p=410}} However, Galloway won the seat of Bethnal Green and Bow by a narrow margin of 823 votes.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=409}} Galloway's surprise victory provided much momentum for his party.{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=155}} His victory represented the first time that a party to the left of Labour had won a seat in the Houses of Parliament since 1951.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=405}} Respect also did well in several other constituencies, coming second to Labour in both West Ham and East Ham, and also securing second place in [[Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath]], where Yaqoob had been its candidate, securing 27.5% of the vote.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=410}}
{{Wikinews|Surprise win for RESPECT Party in UK 2005 General Election}}

Respect made "rapid progress", aided by growing finances and the existing campaign experience of the far left.{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=155}} By the end of 2005, in the London Borough of Newham, two Labour and one [[Liberal Democrats (UK)|Liberal Democrat]] councillor had defected to Respect.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=410}} By December 2005, it had an official membership of 5,674.{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=155}} Galloway, however, told [[Decca Aitkenhead]] in April 2012 for a ''Guardian'' profile that Respect, at its peak, only had about 3–4,000 members.<ref name="Aitkenhead">{{cite news|last=Aitkenhead|first=Decca|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/apr/29/george-galloway-interview-bradford-west|title=George Galloway: 'I believe that on judgment day, people have to answer for what they did'|work=The Guardian|date=29 April 2016|access-date=19 December 2016}}</ref> Its university wing, Student Respect, claimed by 2007 to have branches in over fifty campuses across England and Wales.{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=155}} Benedek suggested that this probably made it the fastest-growing student political group in the UK.{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=155}} The SWP's student group, the Socialist Worker Student Society (SWSS), encouraged its members to join Respect and became largely dormant.{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=155}}

===Local electoral victories: 2006–07===
[[File:GhaziandBlair.jpg|thumb|180px|Respect candidate Ghazi Khan, with someone dressed as Blair, at the 18 March 2006 Anti-War Protest in London]]
In 2006, Galloway appeared on [[Channel 4]]'s reality television show ''[[Celebrity Big Brother (UK TV series)|Celebrity Big Brother]]''.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=410}} His hope was to use it as a public relations exercise in which he could promote his views to a wider audience, however this backfired as Channel 4 producers censored most of his political discussions.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=410}} Media attention instead focused on the fact that he had seemingly abandoned his constituents to appear in the show and on an episode in which he had impersonated a cat.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=410}} This did little to damage Respect's electoral appeal.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=410}}

Respect stood about 150 candidates in the 2006 local elections,{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=410}} at which it secured 16 seats.{{sfn|Benedek|2007|p=155}} At Respect's campaign launch, Galloway anticipated a "referendum on new Labour", and said the election "will be the last blow that will knock out Tony Blair".<ref>{{cite news|last=Mulholland|first=Hélène|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/apr/10/otherparties.uk|title=Galloway: 'Roasting' Iraqis keeps British pensioners cold|work=The Guardian|date=10 April 2006|access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> In Tower Hamlets, Respect took eleven new council seats, giving it a total of twelve and making it the borough's official opposition to Labour.{{sfnm|1a1=Clark|1y=2012|1p=112|2a1=Peace|2y=2013a|2p=410}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Galloway |first=George |title=Rescuing something labour from the wreckage |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/may/09/rescuingsomethinglabourfrom |work=The Guardian |date=9 May 2006 |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Local elections: Tower Hamlets |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/vote2006/locals/html/bg.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=5 May 2006 |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Manning |first=Luke |title=The battle for Tower Hamlets |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/may/05/localelections2006.localgovernment |work=The Guardian |date=5 May 2006 |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> In Newham, Respect gained 26% of the vote and returned its three councillors, although was disappointed not to gain further ones.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=410}} In Birmingham, Respect gained 55% of the vote in the Sparkbrook ward, and Yaqoob was elected as the city's first female Muslim councillor.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=410}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Harris |first=John |author-link=John Harris (critic) |title=Respect's Salma Yaqoob: 'Labour has gone a bit mad since Bradford West' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/apr/24/respects-salma-yaqoob-labour-has-gone-mad |work=The Guardian |date=24 April 2012 |access-date=4 April 2015}}</ref> None of the new Respect councillors were connected with the SWP. Galloway explained at the time that many Respect supporters "are small business people and wouldn't describe themselves as socialists and are not bound to accept it."<ref>{{cite news |last=Tate |first=David |title=What is the point of Respect? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2006/may/06/whatisthepointofrespect |work=The Guardian |date=6 May 2006 |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

Respect stood 48 candidates in the 2007 local election, of which three were elected.{{sfnm|1a1=Benedek|1y=2007|1p=155|2a1=Peace|2y=2013a|2p=410}} The party had peaked, and following this would witness a decline.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=410}} In July 2007, Galloway was suspended from the House of Commons for 18 days after the standards and privileges commit accused him of a lack of transparency in the financing of is charity, the [[Mariam Appeal]].{{sfn|Peace|2013a|pp=410–411}} In August, a Respect councillor in Tower Hamlets resigned, triggering a by-election which Harun Miah narrowly secured for Respect.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=411}}

===Schism: 2007===
The SWP had been members of Respect's "Unity Coalition" since its early years, although relations between them and Galloway had been strained.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=411}} In August 2007 he wrote a letter to the party's national council stating that Respect had various internal weaknesses, with many deeming this a veiled criticism of the SWP.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=411}}<ref>[http://www.themuslimweekly.com/fullstoryview.aspx?NewsID=215082B330A483E173B045F1&MENUID=HOMENEWS&DESCRIPTION=UK%20News Galloway slams own Respect party] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071105232630/http://www.themuslimweekly.com/fullstoryview.aspx?NewsID=215082B330A483E173B045F1&MENUID=HOMENEWS&DESCRIPTION=UK%20News |date=5 November 2007}}, ''[[The Muslim Weekly]]'', 14 September 2007</ref> This generated rifts within the SWP itself as two of its members were expelled for refusing to step down as Galloway's parliamentary assistants. By October, SWP publications were claiming that there was a "witch hunt" against socialists within Respect, despite the presence of socialist groups other than the SWP.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=411}} That month, disagreements between Rahman and Abjol Miah, leader of the Respect group in Tower Hamlets, resulted in four of the borough's councillors resigning the Respect Party whip.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=411}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Ryan|first=Rosalind|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2007/oct/29/otherparties.localgovernment|title=Respect councillors resign the whip|work=The Guardian|date=29 October 2007|access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

By November 2007, Respect had split into two rival factions. The first consisted largely of members affiliated with the SWP and included the rebel councillors from Tower Hamlets.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=411}} The second, which named itself [[Respect Renewal]], was led by Galloway and Yaqoob and had the support of virtually all of the party's elected representatives and national council.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|pp=411, 412}} According to political scientist Timothy Peace, these events were "characteristic of the faction fighting that has always plagued the radical left."{{sfn|Peace|2013a|pp=411–412}} The SWP-allied faction controlled the party's website and claimed that Galloway had simply left the party, of which they were the rightful representatives. The Respect Renewal group changed the locks of the party's national office and barred access to SWP supporters.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=412}} On 17 November, both groups held conferences at which they claimed to be the legitimate manifestation of Respect.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=412}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=396&issue=117|title=The Crisis in Respect|access-date=15 January 2008|work=[[International Socialism (magazine)|International Socialism]]|year=2008|first=Chris|last=Harman}}</ref> The [[Electoral Commission]] subsequently ruled that control of the party's name rested with [[Fire Brigades Union]] activist Linda Smith, the nominating officer; she had sided with Galloway, meaning that the Respect Renewal group were able to continue using the name. The SWP faction split and began using the name [[Left List]].{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=412}}

The SWP attributed the split to a shift to the right by Galloway and his allies, motivated by electoralism (seeking to gain Muslim votes) and attacks on the left.<ref name="Nunns">Alex Nunns [http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Car-crash-on-the-left/ "Car crash on the left"], ''Red Pepper'', December 2007.</ref> This opinion was shared by [[Hilary Wainwright]], who saw a common pattern of "leaderism" in this and other leftist debacles, although she thought Galloway possessed positive qualities.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wainwright|first=Hilary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2007/nov/16/anyrespectleft|title=Any Respect left?|quote=And to be honest, although I was impressed by Galloway's oratorical skills, my feminism, my instinctive dislike of leaderism and my aghast observations of the Scargill and then the Sheridan debacles made me wary of an organisation that depended so much on a hero.|work=The Guardian|date=16 November 2007|access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> SWP-dominated branches of Respect were reportedly less active than those with far fewer members of that group. A narrow failure of John Rees in 2006 to gain election in the Tower Hamlets local elections, while the 12 candidates from the Bangladeshi community were all elected, was also alleged to have alienated the SWP from the project.<ref name="Nunns"/>

In December 2009, the party de-registered (removed) itself from the Register of Political Parties for Northern Ireland,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/63167/Renamed-or-Deregistered-Parties.pdf|title=Electoral Commission|access-date=23 April 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206030211/http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/63167/Renamed-or-Deregistered-Parties.pdf|archive-date=6 December 2008}}</ref> but remained registered for England, Scotland and Wales.

===Decline: 2008–2011===
Respect went into gradual decline after 2008.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=406}} By this point its primary unifying issue, anger at Labour over the Iraq War, had become less salient,{{sfn|Clark|2012|p=113}} with the political scientist Stephen Driver suggesting that for this reason Respect "struggled to be anything more than a one-trick pony".{{sfn|Driver|2011|p=160}} The party was in disarray following the schism and only forwarded one candidate for the 2008 London Assembly elections.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=412}} This candidate, [[Hanif Abdulmuhit]], stood for the [[City and East]] constituency and secured 15% of the vote but trailed behind their Labour and [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] rivals.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=412}} Overall Respect attained 2.4% of the London Assembly vote, below the 5% threshold needed to secure a seat.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=412}} Galloway had headed the Respect (London-wide) top-up list.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/london-list-members/|title=Greater London Authority:Assembly list candidates|publisher=UK polling report|date=2008|access-date=9 April 2016}}</ref> Respect had not fielded a candidate for London Mayor, instead endorsing Labour's [[Ken Livingstone]], while Left List had fielded German, who secured significantly fewer votes than she had gained as a Respect candidate for Mayor in 2004.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=412}} The outbreak of the [[Gaza War (2008–09)|2008 Gaza War]] provided renewed impetus for Respect's campaigning.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=412}} Throughout much of 2009, the party devoted much of its resources to raising funds for the [[Viva Palestina]] aid convoy to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the [[Gaza Strip]].{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=412}} The first convoy, which set off from [[Glasgow]] in February 2009, was led by Respect member [[Kevin Ovenden]].{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=412}}

[[File:Salma Yaqoob.jpg|thumb|left|At the time of the 2010 general election, Yaqoob was Respect's leader]]

Respect Renewal stood 10 candidates in the local council elections also taking place on 1 May across England and Wales. They returned one new councillor, Nahim Khan, in Birmingham Sparkbrook, who received 42.64% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.respectrenewal.org/content/view/280/1|title=Respect – First thoughts on the elections|publisher=Respectrenewal.org|access-date=23 April 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511043831/http://www.respectrenewal.org/content/view/280/1|archive-date=11 May 2012}}</ref> 
The party did not field any candidates for the 2009 European Parliament elections, instead urging supporters to vote for either the Green Party or the left-wing Eurosceptic alliance, [[No2EU]].{{sfnm|1a1=Driver|1y=2011|1p=160|2a1=Peace|2y=2013a|2p=412}} Instead, [[Arthur Scargill]]'s [[Socialist Labour Party (UK)|Socialist Labour Party]] proved to be the most successful radical left party in the election, securing 1.1% of the national vote.{{sfn|Driver|2011|p=160}}

Respect fielded ten candidates in the 2010 general election,{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=413}} with a particular focus on three that they considered winnable.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|pp=412–413}} The party's manifesto highlighted that a [[hung parliament]] would be likely, and that if there were three Respect MPs in the House of Commons then they would have a chance of forming a coalition with a minority government.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=413}} Their three targeted seats were [[Birmingham Hall Green]], which was being contested by Yaqoob—who was then party leader—[[Poplar and Limehouse]], which was contested by Galloway, and Galloway's existing seat of Bethnal Green and Bow, which was being defended by Miah.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=413}} The election however proved disastrous for Respect.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=414}} Labour secured all three of the seats that Respect had targeted, with Galloway and Miah being pushed into third place with 17% of the vote.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=414}} Nationwide it had secured 33,251 votes, less than half of that which it had attained in the 2005 general election.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=414}} Local elections were held on the same day which also resulted in significant losses for Respect; in Tower Hamlets it went from having eight councillors to one, and in Newham it lost all its councillors.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=414}}

However the party had better results elsewhere. In [[Birmingham Hall Green (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Hall Green]] constituency Respect candidate [[Salma Yaqoob]] performed better, receiving 12,240 votes, 25.1%, placing second after Labour candidate [[Roger Godsiff]], who received 16,039 votes, 32.9%.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/constituency/a33.stm|title=Election results Birmingham Hall Green|publisher=BBC News}}</ref>

Respect fielded eight more candidates in other constituencies, who together polled 4,319 votes. [[Arshad Ali (Respect Party leader)|Arshad Ali]] received 1,245 votes, 3.1%, in [[Bradford West (UK Parliament constituency)|Bradford West]], and Kay Phillips received 996 votes, 2.9%, in [[Blackley and Broughton (UK Parliament constituency)|Blackley and Broughton]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=the RESPECT party |url=http://www.voterespect.org/ |title=the RESPECT party |website=Voterespect.org |access-date=18 February 2012}}</ref> In total, Respect candidates received 33,269 votes, which amounted to 6.8% of the total vote in the constituencies where they stood and 0.1% of the total UK vote.<ref>{{cite web|last=Searle|first=Clive|title=VOTE RESPECT: After the election – some thoughts and some thanks|url=http://www.voterespect.org/2010/05/after-election-some-thoughts-and-some.html#more|publisher=Respect|access-date=14 May 2010}}<br />- {{cite news|title=National Results|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/election2010/results/|publisher=BBC News|access-date=16 May 2010}}</ref>

During the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 General Election]] the Green Party stood down in favour of Respect candidates in [[Birmingham Sparkbrook (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Sparkbrook]] and [[Blackley and Broughton (UK Parliament constituency)|Blackley and Broughton]]. While Respect agreed not to stand against the [[Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition]] candidate in [[Salford and Eccles (UK Parliament constituency)|Salford and Eccles]] or to oppose the Greens standing in [[Manchester Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Manchester Central]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/general_election/blackley_and_broughton/s/1202913_kay_phillips_respect|title=Greens back Kay Phillips, Respect|work=Manchester Evening News |date=28 April 2010}}</ref> indicating the beginning of a tentative co-operation between the three parties locally <ref>{{cite web |date=2010-03-03 |title=Supporters & Links |url=https://davidhenryppc.wordpress.com/election-campaign/supporters-links-endorsements/ |access-date=2023-04-20 |website=David Joseph Henry}}</ref>{{Not in citation given|date=April 2023}}. Galloway told Decca Aitkenhead in April 2012: "When we lost the three parliamentary seats in 2010 that we'd hoped to win, we became almost minuscule"; Respect he said then had about 8-900 members.<ref name="Aitkenhead"/>

Abjol Miah was elected as the National Chair of Respect in January 2011.<ref>[http://eastlondonnews.co.uk/abjol-miah-elected-national-chair-of-respect "Abjol Miah Elected National Chair of Respect"], ''East London News'', 21 January 2011.</ref> After the introduction of a [[directly elected mayor of Tower Hamlets]]—something that Respect had campaigned for locally—the party backed the successful independent candidate [[Lutfur Rahman (British politician)|Lutfur Rahman]].{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=420}}

On 5 May 2011, in the [[2011 Scottish Parliament election]], the Respect Party, on whose list Galloway stood in the [[Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Glasgow electoral region]], received 6,972 votes (3.3%).<ref name="BBC Scotland 1">{{cite news |title=Scottish election: Salmond victorious after party's win |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-13305522 |publisher=BBC News |date=6 May 2011 |access-date=3 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="BBC Scotland 2">{{cite news |title=Election 2011 – Scotland – Glasgow |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/election2011/region/html/36139.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=8 May 2011 |access-date=3 April 2012}}</ref> He campaigned under the banner of Coalition Against the Cuts, but the vote was insufficient to become a [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] in the proportional voting system used.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=420}} In the Birmingham City Council election of 2011, Respect lost one of its three councillors to Labour.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=420}} In July, Yaqoob then resigned for health reasons, leaving the party with only one councillor in the city.{{sfn|Peace|2013a|p=421}}

===2012: Galloway wins Bradford West by-election===
Galloway successfully contested [[Bradford West (UK Parliament constituency)|Bradford West]] in a [[2012 Bradford West by-election|by-election]] held on 29 March 2012, following the resignation of Labour MP [[Marsha Singh]] due to ill health.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-17268770 Former MP George Galloway to stand in Bradford West] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Cowburn |first=Dolores |title=Bradford MP Marsha Singh to quit |url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/9561895.Bradford_MP_Marsha_Singh_to_quit/ |work=Bradford Telegraph & Argus |date=1 March 2012 |access-date=1 March 2012}}</ref>

Galloway and his supporters, such as the [[Muslim Public Affairs Committee]] (MPACUK), were active in a campaign against [[Imran Hussain (British politician)|Imran Hussain]], the Muslim deputy leader of Bradford City Council, whose commitment to his faith was queried because he is reported to drink alcohol.<ref name="Gilligan30032012">{{cite news |last=Gilligan |first=Andrew |author-link=Andrew Gilligan |title=A runaway victory for George Galloway – and all praise to Allah |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9176195/A-runaway-victory-for-George-Galloway-and-all-praise-to-Allah.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London |date=30 March 2012 |access-date=4 April 2012}}</ref> Meanwhile, one of Galloway's supporting speakers at a rally on the Sunday before the byelection was Abjol Miah, once group leader of the Respect councillors in Tower Hamlets, who is also active in the IFE.<ref name="Gilligan30032012"/><ref name="Gilligan121010">Andrew Gilligan [http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100058658/fundamentalist-liar-loses-another-complaint-against-us/ "Fundamentalist liar loses another complaint against us"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304140235/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100058658/fundamentalist-liar-loses-another-complaint-against-us/ |date=4 March 2016}}, ''The Daily Telegraph'', 12 October 2010</ref>

Galloway was elected with a majority of 10,140 with one of the largest swings in the polls against the defending political party in modern political history.<ref>Andy McSmith [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/andy-mcsmiths-diary-respect-mp-george-galloway-needs-to-work-on-his-swing-10137061.html "Andy McSmith's Diary: Respect MP George Galloway needs to work on his swing"], ''The Independent'', 26 March 2015</ref>

===2012: party resignations===
Yaqoob resigned as party leader in September, following Galloway's remarks about rape with respect to the [[Julian Assange]] case.<ref>Andrew Woodcock [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/respect-chief-salma-yaqoob-quits-over-george-galloway-rape-row-8129888.html "Respect chief Salma Yaqoob quits over George Galloway rape row"], ''The Independent'', 12 September 2012</ref> She told a reporter from ''[[The Guardian]]'' that she had had to make a choice between "standing up for the rights of women" and her admiration for Galloway's "anti-imperialist stance".{{sfn|Hill|2016|p=136}}<ref>Aida Edemariam [https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/22/salma-yaqoob-respect-george-galloway "Respect's Salma Yaqoob: 'Why I quit'"], ''The Guardian'', 22 September 2015</ref> In October 2012, party secretary Chris Chilvers said Respect had 2,000 members, while before the by-election it had 300.<ref name="Pidd141012">Helen Pidd [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/oct/14/george-galloway-losing-respect-bradford "George Galloway: is Bradford losing respect for its maverick MP?"], ''The Guardian'', 14 October 2012</ref> Arshad Ali, who succeeded Yaqoob as leader, resigned as national chair in December 2012 after it was discovered that he has a spent conviction for electoral fraud (dating from his time in the Labour Party), although at this point the Electoral Commission still had Yaqoob listed as the party's leader.<ref>{{cite news |last=Pidd |first=Helen |title=Respect party loses second leader in three months |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/dec/07/respect-party-loses-second-leader |work=The Guardian |date=7 December 2012 |access-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

[[Kate Hudson (activist)|Kate Hudson]] had originally been selected for the [[2012 Manchester Central by-election|Manchester Central by-election]], but stood down in early September following Galloway's comments on rape,<ref>[http://news.sky.com/story/980791/galloway-rape-remark-respect-candidate-quits "Galloway Rape Remark: Respect Candidate Quits"], [[Sky News]], 4 September 2012</ref> and left the party in October. In the same month, Respect announced that Catherine Higgins, a local "community advocate", would contest the by-election on 15 November 2012. Higgins finished ninth out of 12 candidates.

In November 2012, at a rally in Rotherham, Respect announced that [[Yvonne Ridley]] had been chosen to contend the [[2012 Rotherham by-election|Rotherham by-election]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-20289025 "Yvonne Ridley Respect candidate in Rotherham election"], BBC News, 12 November 2012</ref> The election took place on 29 November 2012; Ridley finished fourth with 8% of the vote, ahead of both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates, but behind UKIP and the BNP.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rotherham by-election: Sarah Champion holds Labour seat |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-20535008 |publisher=BBC News |date=30 November 2012}}</ref>

===2012–15: Respect's Bradford councillors===
Respect won five seats on [[Bradford Council]] in May 2012 following Galloway's success in the by-election at the end of March. Amid a fiercely fought campaign, there were claims and complaints of violence and harassment by the Respect Party and its opponents.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-17957678|publisher=BBC News|title=Respect party harassment claim by Bradford East MP David Ward|date=4 May 2012}}</ref> The party came second in [[Oldham]]'s Werneth ward and [[London Borough of Tower Hamlets|Tower Hamlets]]' Weavers ward.

After several months of inconclusive reports in the media,<ref>Marcus Dysch [http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/108609/galloway-bid-boris’s-job "Galloway in bid for Boris’s job?"], ''The Jewish Chronicle'', 13 June 2013</ref> on 10 August 2013, the Bradford ''[[Telegraph & Argus]]'' reported that Galloway might not be a candidate in Bradford at the [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015 general election]] and instead stand in the [[2016 London mayoral election|2016 London Mayoral election]].<ref name="thetelegraphandargus.co.uk">Dolores Cowburn [http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/10604560.George_Galloway___I_could_stand_for_Mayor_of_London_/ "George Galloway: 'I could stand for Mayor of London'"], ''Telegraph & Argus'', 10 August 2013</ref> The five Respect councillors in Bradford elected the previous year resigned from the party whip on 15 August 2013<ref name="BBC1508">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-23716076 "Bradford councillors resign from Respect party"], BBC News, 15 August 2013</ref> after coming into conflict with Galloway over his comments that he might run in the London mayoral election.<ref name="thetelegraphandargus.co.uk"/> They argued that the MP was needed in Bradford.<ref name="BBC1508"/> Two of the councillors had said the MP should resign if he intended to stand in London; Galloway and his associates had immediately suspended them, although their three fellow council members were in agreement.<ref name="Pidd130813">Helen Pidd [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/aug/13/george-galloway-bradford-west-mayor-london "George Galloway urged to resign as MP if he wants to be London mayor"], ''The Guardian'', 13 August 2013.</ref> One of the other three councillors, Alyas Karmani, then leader of the Respect group on Bradford City Council, said the party had not, in fact, been consulted about Galloway's plans.<ref name="Pidd130813"/>

Galloway had also claimed that the councillors were working against him and the party with Aisha Ali Khan, his former aide, and her husband.<ref name="BBC1508"/> (Both Ali Khan and her husband later received criminal convictions related to her former employment by Galloway.)<ref>PA [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/31/george-galloway-ex-secretary-conditional-discharge-data-breaches "George Galloway's ex-secretary gets conditional discharge for data breaches"], theguardian.com, 31 July 2014.</ref> After no retraction of the assertions made against them had been forthcoming,<ref name="Robinson">Andrew Robinson [http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/local-stories/no-respect-as-bradford-councillors-quit-galloway-s-party-1-6185353 "No respect as Bradford councillors quit Galloway’s party"], ''Yorkshire Post'', 25 October 2013.</ref> the five councillors entirely severed their connections with Respect towards the end of October and then intended to sit as independents for the remainder of their term of office.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-24667386 "Bradford Respect councillors resign in George Galloway row"], BBC News, 25 October 2013</ref> Claims that they had been "conniving" with Galloway's former aide were false, they said.<ref>Helen Pidd [https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/oct/25/bradford-respect-party-councillors-resign-george-galloway "Respect councillors in Bradford resign en masse"], theguardian.com, 25 October 2013.</ref> A spokesman from Respect accused them of attempting to gain control of the party in Bradford.<ref name="Robinson"/>

In the [[2014 United Kingdom local elections|2014 local elections]], Respect stood eight candidates in Bradford, but none of them won in their council wards.<ref>Helen Pidd [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2014/may/23/labour-gains-control-of-bradford-george-galloway-respect-fails "Labour gains control of Bradford as Respect fails"], theguardian.com (blog), 23 May 2014</ref> Two other Respect councillors lost their seats, leaving Respect without any representation on local authorities.<ref name="BBCVote14">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/events/vote2014/england-council-election-results |title=Vote 2014 |date=22 May 2014 |access-date=5 February 2015 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> In 2014, the party had only 630 members and assets of £1,947.{{sfn|Hill|2016|p=137}} By that point, the party was largely a vehicle for Galloway's personality.{{sfn|Hill|2016|p=137}}

This changed in March 2015 when four of the former Respect councillors rejoined and a Labour member of the council, Asama Javed, left the party and aligned herself with Respect.<ref>Rob Lowson, [http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/11887506.Four_Bradford_councillors_rejoin_Respect/ "Four Bradford councillors rejoin Respect"], ''Bradford Telegraph & Argus'', 29 March 2015.<br />- Claire Wilde, [http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/11885855.Sitting_Bradford_councillor_defects_from_Labour_party_to_Respect/ "Sitting Bradford councillor defects from Labour party to Respect"], ''Bradford Telegraph & Argus'', 27 March 2015.<br />- Helen Pidd, [https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/the-northerner/2015/mar/31/bradford-councillors-rejoin-george-galloway-respect-party "Four Bradford councillors rejoin George Galloway's Respect party"], ''The Guardian'', 31 March 2015.</ref> The remaining councillor of the five who resigned in August 2013, Mohammad Shabbir, announced he was joining the Labour group on the council in mid-April 2015 with immediate effect rather than rejoining Respect with his former colleagues.<ref>[http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/local/localbrad/12887969.Councillor_announces_his_defection/ "Councillor announces his defection"], ''Bradford Telegraph & Argus'', 14 April 2015.</ref> In July 2015, the four councillors who had rejoined reversed their decision and decided to continue under the Bradford Independent Group label, although rejoining Respect was still a possibility.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wilde|first=Claire|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/13496488.Bradford_Councillors_make_U_turn_on_re_joining_Respect_party/|title=Bradford Councillors make U-turn on re-joining Respect party|work=Bradford Telegraph & Argus|date=23 July 2015|access-date=1 January 2015}}</ref>

===2015–16: general election and de-registration===
At the 2015 general election, Respect had four candidates, in [[Halifax (UK Parliament constituency)|Halifax]] and two Birmingham seats ([[Birmingham Hall Green (UK Parliament constituency)|Hall Green]] and [[Birmingham Yardley (UK Parliament constituency)|Yardley]]) in addition to Bradford West.<ref>[http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge15/cand/other.htm "UK General Election 2015 candidates: Other candidates"], Political Resources.net</ref> Where Respect was not standing in the election, Galloway had urged a vote for Labour in 2013, having met and been impressed with then Labour leader [[Ed Miliband]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/i-want-ed-miliband-to-be-pm-says-labour-outcast-george-galloway-8585723.html|title=I want Ed Miliband to be PM, says Labour outcast George Galloway|work=London Evening Standard|date=24 April 2013|access-date=11 March 2018}}</ref> None of the Respect candidates were elected. In George Galloway's own seat, the 10,000 majority he had gained at the 2012 Bradford West by-election was reversed, and the Labour Party candidate [[Naz Shah]] became the constituency's MP with a majority of 11,420 votes.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/politics/constituencies/E14000589 "Election 2015: Bradford West"], BBC News; accessed 3 October 2016.</ref>

In December 2015, it became known that former Respect Party leader [[Salma Yaqoob]] had applied to join the Labour Party in Hall Green following [[Jeremy Corbyn]]'s election as leader. Her application was rejected by her local constituency Labour Party owing to her standing against Labour candidates.<ref>{{cite news|last=Gilligan|first=Andrew |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/Jeremy_Corbyn/12060187/Labour-moderates-fighting-to-stop-leading-Stop-the-War-activist-joining-the-party.html|title=Labour moderates fighting to stop leading Stop the War activist joining the party|work=The Telegraph|date=19 December 2015|access-date=31 December 2015}}</ref>

Robert Colvile reported in ''[[The Spectator]]'' at the beginning of January 2016:{{blockquote|Respect barely exists in Bradford—or anywhere else. In 2013, the membership fell to 230 people. Last year <!-- See comment following the citation. -->[2014], that had rebounded to 630—but beyond their membership fees, Respect raised only £1,133 in donations. Its assets were just £1,947.<ref name="Colvile">{{cite news|last=Colvile|first=Robert|url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/01/why-george-galloways-luck-may-finally-be-running-out/|title=Why George Galloway's luck may finally be running out|work=The Spectator|date=2 January 2016|access-date=31 December 2015}} Article is written on the assumption it was published in 2015. The reference to Galloway's appearance on [[Question Time George Galloway in Finchley controversy|''Question Time'' in Finchley]] in February 2015 is said to be "In February this year".</ref>}}

Following his defeat in the 2015 general election, Galloway announced that he would stand as Respect's candidate in the [[2016 London mayoral election]].{{sfn|Hill|2016|p=135}} During hustings, he praised newly elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn,{{sfn|Hill|2016|p=140}} but condemned Labour Mayoral candidate [[Sadiq Khan]] as a "flip-flop merchant" and a "product of the Blairite machine".{{sfn|Hill|2016|p=139}} In the final result of the London Mayoral election held on 5 May 2016, Galloway came seventh with 37,007 (1.4%) first preference votes. After second preference were accounted for, Sadiq Khan became London mayor.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election/2016/london/results|title=London Elections 2016, Candidates & Results|publisher=BBC News|date=7 May 2016|access-date=7 May 2016}}</ref> Respect failed to hold any of their seats in Bradford in the 2016 local elections, leaving them without any representation at any level of government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/local-election-results-2016-bradford-1-7896006|title=Local election results 2016: Bradford|work=Yorkshire Post|date=6 May 2016|access-date=1 July 2016}}</ref>

The Respect Party "voluntarily deregistered" from the [[Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)|Electoral Commission]]'s Register of Political Parties on 18 August 2016, twelve years after it initially registered.<ref name="EC180816">{{cite web|url=http://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Registrations/PP362|title=Registration summary|publisher=Electoral Commission|date=18 August 2016|access-date=20 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="Fenton">{{cite news|last=Fenton|first=Siobhan|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/george-galloway-respect-party-deregisters-labour-jeremy-corbyn-member-a7202191.html|title=George Galloway's Respect Party deregisters, prompting speculation politician may rejoin Labour|work=The Independent|date=21 August 2016|access-date=21 August 2016}}</ref>