Wing a minor tax hike for the rich.
Many working class voters
and in the case of Muslims, whole communities - who voted for them were looking for a progressive alternative to New Labour and not just shifting to the right.
Unlike the 1980s, when Labour's hard right split to fuse with the Liberals -these voters were more likely to be on the left.
Naturally the traditional Labour base is overwhelmingly reformist and therefore turns to an established parliamentary party that has carved out a niche in the system and appears (wrongly) to be willing to challenge some of its excesses.
It is hardly surprising, even if it is mistaken, that the Lib Dems have become a first port of call.
The picture is therefore mixed and dynamic. We need to grasp the shifts underlying the surface of Labour's position of power. To wait for an open rupture before building a new left party will be to leave it too late.
But to act as a pole of attraction, any alternative must be serious about winning the confidence of working class supporters.
A radical programme of policies to defend the workers and the oppressed and transform society is essential. But it has to reach out and be accessible to those who presently see such a proçess in reformist terms. This will have to include fighting off those wolves in sheep's clothing, the Lib Dems and the Brownites. Liam Mac Uaid Bethnal Green was the safest of Labour seats. Oona King had a majority of 10,057 votes and this was where Respect scored its biggest electoral DUCCCON with George Galloway winning 15,807 votes and taking the seat.
Labour fought hard and dirty to keep King in the job.
were accused of anti-Semitism, beating up a pensioner, slashing King's tyres and throwing eggs at memorial service attended by King. It goes without saying that no one connected with Respect had anything to do with these incidents.
Labour spent a fortune on more traditional forms of electoral campaigning and produced several high quality newspapers and leaflets.
King was blessed with visits from Ken Livingstone, John Prescott, Cherie Blair and Peter Hain. Visits by former defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and Tony Blair were cancelled because of the strength of local feeling against the war criminals.
Talking about Respect to the local paper she said "Extremists have come from all over the country to stir up ill-feeling, coming in to use the East End for their own political purposes."
On the morning of the election her supporters distributed leaflets saying a vote for Respect would let the Tories win. This isn't terribly likely in a constituency where they only polled 6000 votes but any old lie will do Glyn Robbins, chair of Tower Hamlets Respect, said of the election campaign: *It was so uplifting. By my reckoning more than 1000 people were involved. Many had never been involved in an election before and many others hadn't been involved for a long time. The only comparison i can make is when Phil Piratin was elected as Communist MP for Stepney in 1945.
"Our job now is to repay the trust that the voters of Bethnal Green have placed in us. That starts with the campaign to save the fire engine that they want to remove from Bethnal Green fire station.
"This will prove that we represent the whole community and that we are concerned with all the issues that affect working people. We are going to show that having a fighting MP makes a difference." when you are desperate.
King was right when she said that Respect supporters came from all over the country.
On the Saturday before the election more than 350 of them were out leafleting, motorcading, canvassing and staffing stalls. They knew that Respect could win the seat and wanted to make it happen.
This was an election campaign that the left has not seen in Britain for sixty years. The youth of the borough are solidly pro-Respect.
Battalions of them were distributing leaflets and persuading their families to vote for the party.
Meetings were organised in church halls, mosques and community centres and attended by dozens of residents from neighbouring streets who wanted to talk about politics and get active.
George Galloway's election victory is going to energise socialist politics in Britain. Tower Hamlets Respect is committed to militant action against cuts and poverty.
It is placed to win several seats in next year's council elections and it has shown that the left can beat New Labour in a working class constituency.