Respect, the Unity Coalition, is a British left-wing political party formed directly out of the anti-war movement in the UK which followed the invasion of Iraq in 2002. Some of those involved in the anti-war movement felt that a political movement was needed to further the aims of those millions who marched against the war. A public meeting was called in January 2004 in London at Friend's House and from that meeting, which was attended by more than 1500 people, an executive was formed. Among those instrumental in founding Respect were George Galloway MP (who had been expelled from the ruling Labour party for revealing truths about the illegality of the invasion of Iraq), Lindsey German, Convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, Ken Loach the film maker and Salma Yaqoob, of the Birmingham Stop the War group. Many British political observers see Respect as an attempt to recreate the true Socialist Labour party which had become a party - renamed 'New Labour' - with almost identical aims to the Tory party, and in so doing had misled and cheated its supporters who traditionally believed in values such as the national ownership of railways and public services and which they had thought would be re-nationalised by the Tony Blair led Labour government.
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