Tomás Ó Flatharta

Looking at Things from the Left

Posts Tagged ‘Elections

Ireland : Government and opposition ‘giving in to far-right playbook’ – Hope and Courage Collective Speaks Out

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Source : https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/government-and-opposition-giving-in-to-far-right-playbook-1632880.html

Government and opposition politicians are “giving in to the far-right playbook”, while anti-immigration demonstrations have become more aggressive since the Dublin riots, according to the director of the Hope and Courage Collective.

The Hope and Courage Collective, previously the Far Right Observatory, is a national civil society organisation “that works with community groups, advocacy groups, trade unions, activists and academics to stop hate organising in our communities and workplaces”.

The group works to “support communities and civil society to stay grounded, caring and resilient in the face of far-right hate, bigotry and extremism”.

Speaking at a recent Joint Policing Committee, Garda Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis said there has been a fall in anti-immigrant protests in Dublin. However, she noted the level of aggression at demonstrations has increased.

Director of Advocacy and Community Engagement at the Hope and Courage Collective Niamh McDonald told BreakingNews.ie that the group has noticed this trend, adding that anti-immigration demonstrations have become more organised.

Changed Racist Tactics – Blockades Outside Buildings Housing Immigrants

“We have noticed a change since the Dublin riots. It’s a change in the dynamics of the activity around these protests. We would concur that there is a drop in the numbers of people coming out, but the tactics have changed. We see the likes of blockades or encampments outside centres that have been copied across the country since January.

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Scumbags in Dublin who stop immigrants getting shelter – the Dublin government is “punching down” says a group of 30 Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s)

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Street Photographer Chris Reid reports :

Barriers replace tents on Mount Street and along the Grand Canal. Barriers now extend along the Grand Canal from Mount Street to South Richmond Street. Good luck to the people in the tents getting through this mess.


Well done Chris. There is no political and moral difference between the actions of the arsonists and racist protesting scum who try to prevent asylum seekers getting shelter in hostels or hotels – and the actions of government ministers and functionaries – like Harris the Taoiseach and Harris the Garda boss. Double-standard “opposition” politicians who dog-whistle to the racists saying “No Open Borders” – E.g. the Sinn Féin Justice spokesperson Donnacha Ó Laoghaire – also share the blame. Genuine anti-racists can and will do much better.

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General election 2024 (Britain): Sunak throws the dice

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General election 2024 (Britain): Sunak throws the dice : “Drowning Street” plus “Things Can Only Get Wetter”

Thursday 23 May 2024, by  KELLAWAY Dave

Dave Kellaway reacts to Rishi Sunak’s surprise call for a July 4 general election

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From Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (ESSF) link :

https://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article70844

Sometimes the beginning contains the end. ‘Drowning Street’ and ‘Things can only get wetter’ were among the headlines in the newspapers the day after Rishi Sunak’s announcement of the July 4th general election. He hoped for gravitas and drama that could somehow jolt the polls. Instead, he stood there getting completely pissed on. His voice was drowned out by an anti-Brexit protester broadcasting the 1997 Blair anthem, Things will only get better. It is almost as though his team hung him out to dry (or rather to get drenched). Was there really no staffer who knew that the police cannot stop you playing loud music at the bottom of Downing Street? Nobody to even hold an umbrella for the leader? All this expresses his isolation and the dire state of the Tory party as well as a complete lack of political nous.

A few minutes later you had Keir Starmer looking composed and prime ministerial in front of not just one, but two Union Jacks. He gave an intelligible, brisk speech summed up in the word on the rostrum – Change. Labour is not really going to change much but it does not look like it will lose the marketing campaign. Sunak’s excruciating performance was a bit like watching West Ham smashed last week – you knew the game was up when Man City’s Foden scored within two minutes. Nobody doubted the inevitable, City was going to win the league. Images count in elections where most voters get their news from the TV and non-print media.

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The final tally, and Results Dublin Bay South By-Election, July 9 2021 – Easy Win for Ivana Bacik (Labour Party)

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Tallies showed Ivana Bacik (Labour Party) was very likely to win the Dublin Bay South By-Election.

Updates here :

https://www.rte.ie/news/regional/2021/0709/1234013-Dubliner-bay-south-by-election-live-updates/ Ongoing coverage continues.

A first count came in confirming predictions that Bacik would win the by-election.

Here is a brilliantly presented table of all the data :

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1YiEnNrYEFWirEiW7mmgxxnpM-MVxGrxqfkIjPx71I_Y/htmlview?pru=AAABeq5c0Lo*b9QSwf-x3ITRC9LswcJRDw

The counts came in :

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/elections/dublin-bay-south-byelection

Initial comments :

1. The Irish Times opinion poll was largely accurate.

2. This is a big defeat for Fine Gael.

3. Bacik is likely to keep the seat in a General Election, removing Green Party leader and government minister Éamon Ryan from the Dáil.

I think all activists should carefully look at the content of Ivana Bacik’s campaign, which was very successful.
Attacking party policies is fine – attacking an individual should not be a left-wing calling card – especially in the case of somebody like Ivana Bacik. Read the rest of this entry »