Former England cricketer Monty Panesar will stand at the next UK general election for the Workers Party of Britain, its leader George Galloway said.

Galloway, a left-wing firebrand who was re-elected to Parliament in March after tapping into anger over the Israel-Hamas war, said Panesar was one of 200 candidates for the party.

Left-arm spinner Panesar, 42, played 50 Test matches for England, taking 167 wickets between 2006 and 2013.

Born Mudhsuden Singh Panesar in Luton, to Sikh parents who emigrated from Punjab, he became a firm fan favourite and a distinctive figure in the field in his black patka.

He will stand in the Ealing Southall constituency in west London at the vote, which is expected to be held this year.

To be elected, he will have to overturn a 16,084 majority set by Virendra Sharma, from the Labour party, at the last national poll in 2019.

Galloway told LBC radio that Panesar “will be our candidate in Southall”, which is a majority Sikh area.

“Monty, of course, was a great left-arm spinner so we could do with him,” he said.

Panesar said he wanted to represent the working class and address Britain’s wealth gap.

“When I played for England there was so much support from the fans and the whole nation when they put me where I am today,” he told the domestic Press Association news agency.

“It’s my turn now to actually help the working-class people, whatever problems they have. The gap between the rich and the poor is getting bigger and bigger.”

Panesar said Galloway’s party was “more aligned” with the working class than the Labour party, which is traditionally the home of blue-collar voters.