Results breakdown of the 2005 United Kingdom general election Party came third in Brighton Pavilion (with Keith Taylor as candidate) behind Labour and the Conservatives, taking 21.9% of the votes cast. Despite this unprecedented high share of the vote Taylor was not selected to contest the seat in the 2010 general election, losing his prospective position to Caroline Lucas. The English Democrats gained their highest percentage of the vote, when former "Sun" newspaper columnist, Gary Bushell stood in Greenwich and Woolwich and gained 3.4% of votes cast. The Independent Working Class Association stood for the first time in a general election, having previously only stood in local council elections.
Bethnal Green and Bow (UK Parliament constituency) community in the constituency but nevertheless supported by their MP Oona King, the newly formed Respect coalition gained support. They topped the poll in Tower Hamlets in the 2004 European Parliamentary elections and subsequently won their first local council seat at a by-election. In the May 2005 general election, the seat was a narrow victory for ex-Labour MP George Galloway, one of Respect's leading figures. Respect also won seats at the 2006 local council elections although its performance was not as strong as many observers believed it could have been. Galloway attracted criticism for lack of attendance at Parliament, especially