James Giles (British politician)
James Giles | |
|---|---|
| Leader of the Opposition on Kingston upon Thames Council | |
| Assumed office 20 November 2023 | |
| Councillor for Green Lane and St James Ward | |
| Assumed office 5 May 2022 | |
| Preceded by | new seat |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Kingston Independent Residents Group |
| Website | jamesgiles |
James Giles is a British local councillor, political advisor and pro-Palestine activist.
Giles was previously a local journalist, running the Coombe Monthly newspaper, and working as a broadcaster with the Associated Press. He co-founded Kingston Independent Residents Group (KIRG) in 2017 with Cllr Mary Clark.[1]
In November 2023, he was suspended from his position as a Community Wellbeing Local Government Association (LGA) Board Member after circulating a petition for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, which stated that the names of councillors who did not sign would be published "in the interest of accountability".[2] This was criticized by some as threatening.[3][4] Giles was cleared of 'threatening behaviour', 'bullying' or 'harassment' in an independent investigation report commissioned by Kingston Council, and has taken up new roles with the LGA since.
In February 2024, he managed Workers Party candidate George Galloway's successful campaign in the Rochdale by-election, where Galloway won the seat previously held by Labour's Tony Lloyd Labour MP.[5][6] Giles has been a councillor for Green Lane & St James' since 5 May 2022 and leads The Opposition Group / Kingston Independent Residents Group (KIRG) in Kingston upon Thames London Borough Council.[5]
Giles then ran as the Workers Party candidate for Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North in the general election in July, narrowly losing to Liam Byrne of the Labour Party.[7]
After the election, Giles became chief of staff to Ayoub Khan, the independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr and advises other pro-Gaza independent MPs elected that year: Shockat Adam, Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed.[6]
References
- ^ Curzon, Emma (2 May 2022). "Kingston Independent Residents' Group (KIRG): a controversial party". Kingston Courier. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
- ^ Boakye, Kwame (20 November 2023). "Updated: Councillor suspended from LGA roles after Gaza open letter". Local Government Chronicle. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ Bolton, Will (20 November 2023). "Councillor 'intimidated' colleagues to sign Gaza ceasefire letter". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ Price, Emily (20 November 2023). "London councillor criticized for 'intimidating' email to Welsh councillors". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 5 January 2025.
- ^ a b Johnson, Charlie (25 February 2024). "Kingston councillor working for George Galloway on Rochdale by-election says role is 'perfectly legitimate'". Kingston Courier. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ a b Penna, Dominic (28 July 2024). "George Galloway's campaign chief advising new pro-Gaza independent MPs". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ Stacey, Kiran (5 July 2024). "Senior Labour figures admit stance on Gaza cost party seats". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 August 2024.