Jane Ashworth reports on the Bethnal Green and Bow hustings

It was a 4-4 draw in last night's hustings between Oona King and George Galloway where the only surprise of the night was Shahagir Bakth Faruk the Tory candidate, winning himself some friends, although probably not votes.

He had an approachable style that suggested he is what he says he is: a local bloke who lives in a Council flat and whose children attend the local school. He did not have the polish of George Galloway or Oona. Nor was it entirely clear why he is a Tory , beyond being central to the local Chamber of Commerce, as he supports an increase in the minimum wage, greater investment in council houses – together with more right to buy as a way onto the property ladder and greater state intervention in the local economy. Perhaps the workers in his business can best explain his politics.

It was a very managed hustings. The Tory was the only surprise of the night. A heavy police presence supported the stewards and a riot squad was reported to be on standby. Two guys scuffled and were removed by the police. They may have been arrested. Perhaps they were looking to repeat the earlier attacks on Galloway or Oona.

It was politically very managed too. Questions were circulated in advance, and the answers only two minutes long. There was no impromptu debate, nothing off the cuff, no cross-fire between the candidates. No chance to ask Galloway why he is demanding the immediate release of Tariq Aziz or if he thinks Saddam should be brought before an international court and tried for crimes against humanity. The audience got the two minute answer of their choice. There probably was not a floating voter in amongst the 400 audience.

Iraq was never mentioned and only once alluded to. 'When you make war on Muslims abroad, you are going to make war with Muslims at home', said Galloway to a huge cheer. He is good at drawing cheers. He can let rip on all the touch stones, even when he doesn't actually make sense or is hiding behind a headline. Oona's friends put up almost as much noise as Respect but its hard to work up an audience with New Labour politics. It doesn't work like that: and anyway, Oona's personal style does not involve a great deal of tub- thumping.

Galloway was on an easy wicket. It is easy to play the issues which are close to the hearts of the voters in one of the poorest boroughs in the country. Take housing. A huge cheer went up from white leftists when he shouted, 'No Council house should be sold' and railed against stock transfer to housing associations even though he thought the local Council was 'corrupt and incompetent'. He may genuinely believe that Housing Associations necessarily make worse landlords than Councils. But did he have to dress it up with complaints that the Bethnal Green and Bow community is being 'overrun, colonised, occupied' with City types? There is something about that discourse which sits uneasily- why was he deliberately echoing the language of racism? Perhaps because he is playing to any sort of communalism he can find.

Galloway tried it again with employment issues. He bemoaned the end of the apprenticeship system and blamed this Government, like the Tories before them, for running down manufacturing industry. He remembered the days when there were apprenticeships in ship building. But this time it fell flat. He was playing to an audience that no longer exists –judging by the response, not many aspired to a life in heavy engineering.

Respect sounded as Galloway promised they would –like the very ghost of old Labour. No answers to today's problems but a good line in hooking into the emotions of poverty, misery and disempowerment.