Laois-Offaly Labour Troubles
Irish Times Story :
Gilmore defends selection process
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0112/1224287329655.html
Includes news of a possible new affiliation to the
United Left Alliance :
“Meanwhile, Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins addressed a meeting in Portlaoise last night where a new left-wing group was expected to be established for Laois-Offaly. It is envisaged the group will affiliate to the United Left Alliance.”
god bless the bourgeois press…..
UNITE Union Calls for a Left Vote in the Irish General Election
Statement for immediate release
Sunday, January 9th 2011
UNITE CALLS ON MEMBERS TO VOTE LEFT
The UNITE trade union, the second largest union in the Republic of Ireland has called on all working people to vote for a left wing government in the general election likely to be held in March.
“Workers should use their vote in the upcoming general election to bring about a left-wing government for the first time in the history of the state,” said Jimmy Kelly, Regional Secretary of Unite the union.
UNITE is an affiliate member of the Labour Party, and is encouraging the party to look left for coalition partners rather than to the old order of Fine Gael.
2011 General Election – the United Left Alliance Prepares
The United Left Alliance held a supporters’ meeting on Monday January 10 at 7pm in Wynn’s Hotel, Abbey Street.
Tomás Ó Flathartha reports.
Arriving on time – for a change – this reporter came across a few grumblers wondering why there was such an early start – these events in Dublin usually start about 8pm.
As usual most punters arrived late, but the room filled up quickly – maybe 110 – 130 people attended, though many left before the official end shortly after 9pm – by that time there were around 60-65 in the room.
It seemed many people had read Brendan Young’s Paper
Building the ULA:
reflections on the past and proposals for the future
(published on this blog and the Irish Left Review) and support for the practical proposals was widespread.
European court ruling on abortion
- Abigail Rooney’s Irish Times letter :
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2011/0110/1224287155901.html
The Irish crisis: a complete failure for neo-liberalism
Eric Toussaint, president of CADTM Belgium (Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt, http://www.cadtm.org ) has written a useful analysis of the financial crisis in Ireland :
http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?page=print_article&id_article=1968
ULA! “No one would have believed….”
A recommended article :
Donegal South-West By-Election – isolated example or pointer to the future?
I agree with Paddy Healy’s analysis
http://paddyhealy.wordpress.com/2010/11/27/analysis-of-donegal-sw-by-election/#respond
– it now appears that Donegal may not be an isolated regional example, following publication of the most recent Red C Poll placing Fianna Fáil in fourth place behind Fine Gael, Labour, and Sinn Féin.
This suggests many supporters / voters of the Labour Party and Sinn Féin may be open to the argument of rivals who are further left – the United Left Alliance – that coalition with Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael should be ruled out in principle.
Pearse Doherty TD Sinn Féin – A Lifer?
Full marks to the Socialist Party irritant Mark P for winkling out important information –
===========
This came to our notice via a Cedar Lounge Revolution discussion :
“Pearse Doherty was unusually up front in expounding SF’s pro-life position on abortion:
Sinn Féin – Senator Pearse Doherty has given a written personal commitment to oppose any legislation that would make abortion available in Ireland and supports a law to protect the human embryo from deliberate destruction”
http://prolifecampaign.ie/?page_id=520
Note also the statement by independent left Thomas Pringle. Read the rest of this entry »
“Right-Wing Think Tank Praised Ireland’s ‘Economic Freedom’ … and Then Its Economy Crashed”
“Right-Wing
Think Tank Praised Ireland’s ‘Economic Freedom’ … and Then Its Economy
Crashed”
Tomás Ó Flatharta 