Outspoken UK politician George Galloway has come up with a profound idea to track London’s £17 billion budget: put it on the ‘Mayor Chain’.
Galloway is one of the most controversial figures in UK politics, his eventful career taking many twists and turns, including his expulsion from the Labour Party in 2003. Currently, he is the leader of the Respect Party, and has served as MP for Bradford West. He also intends on running in the London mayoral election next year.
In an interview on Felix Online, Galloway is asked what his priorities would be as mayor. He responds:
“I’ll give you the latest one which is attracting a lot of attention, and that’s the Mayor Chain that I have proposed. I’m going to put the entire £17 billion budget online in real time in Blockchain and this will allow the public in to see exactly what’s coming in and exactly what’s going out, and where it’s going to, and make representation about it.”
Not much is yet known about Golloway’s proposed “Mayor Chain.” What is noteworthy is that the concept of blockchains serving as immutable and decentralized record sets is starting to make its way outside the worlds of digital currency and Fintech . Blockchain applications have been envisioned for land registries, medical records, intellectual property and identification applications. As the notion infiltrates broader society and becomes part of its lexicon, there will be greater political and social driving forces to bring the technology into reality.
Clarification: The wording in a previous version of this article implied that Galloway is currently MP for Bradford West while leading the Respect Party. He is in fact no longer MP for this district.
