STEPHEN LEWIS finds out about the new political movement that aims to take on Labour.

A "MIGHTY new political force" was how George Galloway described it. And while that may be going a bit far, the newly-formed Respect Coalition could appeal to millions of left-leaning people who feel angry about Iraq and disillusioned by the modern Labour Party.

Respect (the acronym stands for Respect for Equality, Socialism, Peace, Environment, Community and Trade Unions) has grown out of the anti-war movement. It aims to represent people such as the million or so anti-war protesters who took to the streets of London a year ago and who felt their voices went unheeded by the politicians.

The new movement - it is not a party but a coalition, members insist - was launched on January 25 when more than 1,500 activists gathered at Freedom House in London. They included trades unionists, left-wing intellectuals, environmentalists and human rights campaigners - plus, of course, Mr Galloway, the charismatic anti-war MP recently expelled from the Labour Party who is the new coalition's leader.

Their aim is to take on Labour at the forthcoming Euro-elections on June 10 and by winning seats in the European Parliament prove they are a force to be reckoned with.

It's a canny strategy. Because the European elections use a system of proportional representation, Respect would only need to capture about 12 per cent of the vote in any one seat to ensure the return of at least one MEP, and some electoral credibility.

Andrew Collingwood believes that is well within the new movement's reach.

The 30-year-old York University technician is one of the founding organisers of the York branch of the Respect Coalition, and is typical of the kind of disillusioned former Labour voter drawn to it.

"I never used to be particularly politically active," he says. "It wasn't until the war came along that I felt I had to stand up and speak against it. I believe there are a lot of people like myself out there.

"People say there is a lot of apathy about when it comes to elections, that there is a lot of disillusionment with politics.

"But I would say the problem is that there isn't any party they want to vote for. The fact that there were one million plus people on the streets of London shows that people do care."

There was scant sign of George Galloway's "mighty new political force" at the Priory Street Centre in York last Friday when the York branch of the movement was officially launched. Only about 50 people turned out to hear a speech from Anas Altikriti, the former head of the Muslim Association of Britain and one of Respect's six candidates for Yorkshire and the Humber in the Euro elections.

Andrew remains optimistic. Fifty people may not seem a huge amount, he admits, but the Labour Party would probably struggle to attract as many to a local branch meeting at the moment.

A fair point. So what exactly does Respect stand for? As you'd expect, one of its first priorities is to get British and US troops to pull out of Iraq.

It is more than a one-issue movement, however. It wants an end to the creeping privatisation of the NHS; an end to university top-up fees; railways and other public services to be publicly-owned; a minimum wage of £7.40 an hour; and an end to what Andrew calls "Tory anti-union laws".

Respect also wants to restore the link between pensions and earnings; to tax the rich more to fund welfare programmes which will help reduce the gap between rich and poor; and to make it easier for genuine asylum seekers to enter the country.

Internationally, it is in favour of a referendum on Europe, and opposed to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.

Much of this reads like a wish-list of left-wing student politics: well-meaning and laudable, perhaps a little nave.

Take the policy on pulling troops out of Iraq. Respect believes they should be withdrawn immediately.

"More people have died since the end of the war than during it," Andrew says. "Over 10,000 Iraqi civilians have now died. We believe it is up to the people of Iraq to decide their future, not for the US to decide who they think should be running the country."

Yes, but is Iraq really stable enough for all the occupying forces to pull out straight away?

What if they did so, and the resulting power vacuum led to a collapse of order, anarchy and civil war? How would the Respect Coalition feel then?

It's a difficult question to answer, Andrew admits. "But it could not be any worse than it is at the moment."

Or what about Respect's position on the railways? Is it really talking about re-nationalisation?

"The Government is paying more now to subsidise the railways than before they were privatised," Andrew says.

"We would like a national railway service where any profits made are put back into the service instead of going to shareholders."

Yes, but wouldn't it be expensive to buy back the railways? It would cost a lot in the short term, Andrew admits; but at least shareholders would be out of the loop and profits could be re-invested.

And how about that minimum wage? Anybody with any sense would recognise that in today's Britain, a wage of £7.40 an hour is hardly excessive.

"It is impossible for many people to buy a property in York at the moment, and even for those on the minimum wage to afford to rent anywhere," Andrew says. That is an appalling state of affairs. But can you imagine the way small businesses would scream if a new £7.40 minimum rate were imposed?

And wouldn't there be a risk of such a rate driving many small firms under?

Small businesses said that when the present minimum wage of £4.50 was introduced, Andrew says. "But it didn't happen. And it would help them with retention of staff. Someone on £5 an hour will be constantly looking for different work."

Many people will be put off by what Respect stands for. Others will find it appealing but unrealistic. There are also those who will feel it articulates many of their beliefs.

Many of the latter group are likely to be disillusioned Old Labour voters. Andrew has no qualms about that - or about the risk that, by splitting the Labour vote, Respect could open the door to a Conservative revival.

"There comes a time when you have to say the Labour Party is no longer the party you supported," he says. "You have to stand up."

Whether Respect does prove to be a real force at the Euro-elections remains to be seen.

Being a loose coalition of socialists, environmentalists and others, there does seem to be the potential for in-fighting and factionalism.

The first signs of that have already been seen; left-wing commentator George Monbiot has already quit because he didn't like the idea of Respect fielding candidates against the Greens in the European elections.

More of a problem as far as the ordinary voter goes, however, may be Respect's charismatic leader George Galloway. A hero to many in the anti-war movement for his tireless campaigning against the invasion of Iraq, he was accused by others of being a Saddam apologist and was vilified in the tabloid press over wrongful allegations he was paid millions of pounds by the Iraqi dictator.

He was cleared of those accusations, and US newspaper the Christian Science Monitor was in March forced to apologise to him at London's High Court and pay undisclosed damages.

But mud sticks. So is Mr Galloway Respect's greatest asset; or is he, fairly or not, an electoral liability?

"I think he is definitely a benefit, and I think there is a really good chance that he will be elected as an MEP for the London area," Andrew says.

Time will tell.

Updated: 11:33 Wednesday, May 05, 2004