Former England spinner Monty Panesar will stand as a parliamentary candidate for George Galloway’s Labor Party in the next general election.
Panesar, who was born in Luton and played 50 Tests for England, will be at Ealing Southall with 167 wickets at 34.71. The constituency has been a Labor Party stronghold since 2007 under Vivendra Sharma. Sharma is currently polling more than 16,000 votes in a constituency where a third (30 percent) of the population is Asian, according to the 2021 census.
“I want to be a voice for the workers of this country,” Panesar said in a column for The Telegraph. “My ambition in politics is to become Prime Minister, where I will make Britain safer and stronger country.
Galloway returned to the House of Commons in March after winning the by-election in Rochdale following the death of former incumbent Labor MP Sir Tony Lloyd. Speaking early Tuesday morning, Galloway confirmed Panesar, 42, would be announced as one of his party’s candidates at a press event outside Parliament House.
Speaking to LBC, Galloway said: “I will be presenting 200 outside Parliament this afternoon, including – you will be delighted – Monty Panesar, the former England cricket international, who will be our candidate in Southall.”
“Monty is definitely a left-arm spinner and we can do with him.”
Panesar, whose full name is Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, became the first Sikh to represent England when he was selected in Nagpur for the first Test of India’s winter tour in 2006.
After retiring, he attended a sports journalism course at St Mary’s University in London and earlier this month supported the Red Card campaign, talking about the benefits of immigration in a video.
In 2021, Azeem Rafique defended former England captain Michael Vaughan after he was accused of using racist language during a match against Yorkshire in 2009.
