Former England spinner Monty Panesar to fight elections in UK
Monty Panesar, born to Sikh immigrant parents from India, will run as a candidate for George Galloway's fringe Workers Party of Britain
The 42-two-year-old former England spinner Monty Panesar is all set to stand as MP in the next UK elections.
Monty Panesar, born to Sikh immigrant parents from India, will run as a candidate for George Galloway's fringe Workers Party of Britain. He will pitted against the Labour incumbent in Ealing Southall, London.
Panesar, who claimed 167 wickets in 50 Tests for England with his left-arm spin, will be on the ballot in Ealing Southall.
Voice of workers
"I want to be the voice for the workers of this country," Panesar said in a column in 'The Telegraph'.
"My aspiration in politics is to one day become Prime Minister, where I would make Britain a safer and stronger nation. But the first job at hand is to represent the people of Ealing Southall." Galloway, who returned to the House of Commons in March after winning the Rochdale by-election, following the demise of previous incumbent, Labour MP Sir Tony Lloyd, on Tuesday confirmed Panesar as a candidate.
"I'll present 200 of them outside Parliament this afternoon, including - you'll like this - Monty Panesar, the ace Indian cricketer, former England international cricketer, who will be our candidate in Southall," he said.
The 2021 Census showed the borough of Ealing had a Muslim population of almost 19 per cent. Almost one-third (30 per cent) of its population is Asian, while a further 26.5 per cent is made up of non-white ethnic groups.
Great left-arm spinner
"Monty, of course, was a great left-arm spinner and so we could do with him".
Born in Luton, Bedfordshire to Sikh immigrant parents from India, Panesar, whose full name is Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, gained recognition as a cricketer when he was selected for the Nagpur Test in 2006. He was a member of the side that won the 2009 Ashes series and the 2012 India series.
Although he never formally announced his retirement, he took up a sports journalism course at St Mary's University, London after leaving cricket in 2016.
Earlier this month, Panesar filmed a video in support of the Show Racism the Red Card campaign in which he talked up the benefits of immigration.
“I think with migration, Britain is a stronger country, especially with some of the jobs that maybe the people who’ve been living in this country for generations, it’s difficult for them to do,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
