General election 2010: Labour gain seat from Respect
By Aled Thomas
Labour have made their third gain of the election, taking Bethnal Green and Bow from Respect.
The sitting MP George Galloway did not defend the seat, choosing instead to fight in neighbouring Poplar and Limehouse.
Rushanara Ali, won the seat for Labour with a very healthy majority of 11,574 over Liberal Democrat Ajmal Masroor, who gained 10,210 votes.
Respect, the party which held the seat, came a long way back in third with only 16.8% of the vote – 8,532.
This leaves Respect with no seats in parliament and will be a welcome boost to Labour in an election when every seat counts.
