Reflections on Labour Conference 2010

As someone who identifies with the left in the Labour Party, last week's Party Conference in NUI Galway was one of the more positive I have attended. It certainly ranked above soul-less "TV Conferences" held in DCU and the RDS, and Leader's speeches in the Mullingar Accord-era where you'd wince at the fops to FG and tax promises. The 2010 Conference was still worrying, but more for the lack of significant debate than for a 'shift to the right,' as some on the left outside of Labour would allege.

The coverage of the Conference focussed, as you'd expect, on the Leader's speech and PLP, but the lack of mention of some more significant motions in any of the press outlets was curious.
I was the only person to speak against a Motion on the Friday evening session. There were two contrasting motions on Seanad Éireann - the first, a composite from the Clondalkin Branch in Dublin Mid-West and the UCC Branch in Cork South-Central, which called for Seanad reform, and a motion from the Duleek Gate Branch in Louth calling for Seanad abolition (you can see all three motions here.)
I had intended to speak in favour of abolition but, as it happened, there was no-one present to move the motion from the Duleek Gate Branch - as happened with far too many motions over the weekend. I therefore spoke against the UCC/Clondalkin composite - opposing old friends in the process. I rose to speak after a number of well-received speeches in support of reforming, not abolishing, the Seanad. It seemed as if I was entering an atmosphere unfriendly to my stance. Hardly Daniel in the lions' den stuff, but I was somewhat nervous. My speech is below - I was happy with its reception and felt I swung the debate in part at least.

The ensuing procedural farce stymied the chance for the delegates present to decide for themselves. Pat Rabbitte TD spoke after the motions in an attempt to 'wrap up.' Deputising for Brendan Howlin as the relevant spokesperson, Pat was clearly awkward, praising my own speech but not going so far as to call for outright abolition. Instead, he urged a referral back to the party's Executive, a common procedural tool to avoid the 'hard' questions. This was not accepted by the motion's proposers, and so the Chair, Brian O'Shea TD, moved to take a vote on the motion.

The standard show-of-hands showed a significant split in the Conference Hall - it looked to me as if the motion to reform was defeated, and my opposition was successful, but the Chair, who was aiming towards a card count, then claimed that we needed a vote on the motion to refer back - which itself passed, meaning no straight vote for the members. A pity, but by no means a defeat for those on the left who advocate, as I did, the abolition of the Seanad on democratic grounds.

There was no coverage of this somewhat-important motion in the papers or on TV.

Nor was there of the internal party elections - not that you'd expect much, although the Times previously covered these - but again there was a strong showing for the broad left. Gary Honer's magnificent campaign for Party Chairperson secured 40% of the vote - a stunning achievement for a 24 year old grassroots candidate with little or no backing in the PLP or upper echelons. Essentially, the union bloc vote went with the incumbent Brian O'Shea TD, so it would seem that Gary tied or even won the vote of branch, section and constituency delegates. Myself and Gary enjoyed a few smiles afterward, as he rightly celebrated his excellent showing.


The poll-topping performance of Rory Geraghty in the male panel of the new Executive Board shows the ability of Gary's successor as LY Chair to build a broad base of support, again amongst grassroots members.

Nor did we hear or read mention of my own branch's motion on running a candidate in the Presidential election. As I refer to in my speech below, the debate about running a candidate has now been agreed on - and with no small thanks to an outgoing member of the Executive and friend of this blog, Paul Dillon. So I used the chance to speak to Conference to highlight the kind of candidacy and candidate I believe will best represent Labour and our values. It'll be no surprise, then, that I promoted Michael D Higgins as the candidate in my speech.



Another composite motion, proposed by Emmet Stagg TD of the Kildare North Constituency Council and Cllr Patrick Nulty of the Mulhuddart Branch in Dublin West, advocated outright opposition to water charges and Labour to abolish any charges introduced when next in Government. It's no secret that there are those in the party who are are either ambivalent on water tax, or downright supportive. I believe they're in a small minority but, given that we're often told that there are environmentalist and even progressive reasons for water charges, it would have been an opportunity for them to speak out. None did and the motion was passed unanimously.

But, again, there was no coverage.

Strange then, when John Gormley made another announcement last Monday about introducing water charges, we had two distinctly different press releases from the party. The first, from our relevant spokesperson, Joanna Tuffy TD, argued that "The Labour Party remains opposed to the reintroduction of domestic water charges and believes that the cost of providing an EU standard of water to every home in the state should be funded through a reformed tax system." But the second, issued in the name of Dublin City Cllr Aodhán Ó Riordáin, made no such reference.

I'm not sure if either got much coverage, although I just saw Joanna Tuffy, who I believe is very solid on the issue, on The Week in Politics making the Labour case against water charges. But I do know that a letter (see below) from 24 Labour Councillors in all four provinces, including myself, was sent to all national papers but, to my knowledge, was published in none. The signatories were sourced by email in a couple of hours, so I would take the cross-section, rather than the numbers, as an indication of support.

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of political spin would worry about the lack of coverage for any of these matters. The media consensus seems to be rallying behind water charges, so I've no doubt that it would hardly be in the interests of Madam or others to publish our stance, but bizarre that there does not seem to have been any paper to publish the letter. Let me know if you've seen it off the beaten track!

As Labour Party Councilors, we wish to state our opposition to Minister John Gormley's plan to introduce water charges.

Labour reaffirmed our opposition to water charges at our Party Conference in Galway last weekend. We believe in the provision of water as a fundamental human right and that the cost of providing an EU standard of water to every home in the state should be funded through a reformed and progressive tax system.

Labour also confirmed at our Conference that we are committed to abolishing these regressive water charges if in Government. In the meantime, we as Councilors will continue to lead the opposition to water charges and privatisation in our communities and in Council Chambers across the country in the months ahead.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr. Gearóid Buckley, (Bandon Town Council) Cllr. Kevin Byrne, (Kildare County Council) Cllr. Shaun Cunniffe, (Tuam Town Council) Cllr. Marie Corr, (South Dublin County Council) Cllr. Peter Coyle, (Fingal County Council) Cllr. Donie Daly, (Youghal Town Council) Cllr Paula Desmond, (Cork County Council) Cllr Ger Dunne, (Naas Town Council) Cllr. Leonard Hatrick, (Ardee Town Council) Cllr. Dermot Looney, (South Dublin County Council) Cllr. John Lyons, (Dublin City Council) Cllr. Eamonn Maloney, (South Dublin County Council) Cllr. Marie Moloney (Kerry County Council) Cllr. Frank McBrearty Jnr, (Donegal County Council) Cllr. John McGinley, (Kildare County Council) Cllr. Patrick Nulty, (Fingal County Council) Cllr. Sean O' Brien, (Tullamore Town Council) Cllr. Tomas O’Brien, (Kinsale Town Council) Cllr. Cian O’Callaghan, (Fingal County Council) Cllr. Michael O’Donovan, (Fingal County Council) Cllr Paul O'Shea (Ennis Town Council) Cllr. Seamus Ryan, (Waterford City Council) Cllr. Eamon Tuffy, (South Dublin County Council) Cllr. Mark Wall, (Kildare County Council)

By now you'll probably have seen Eamon Gilmore's well-received Leader's speech and Michael D Higgins' articulation of a republican ideal of citizenship. And I don't think I was the only one to appreciate the irony of the centrally-produced Gilmore for Taoiseach placards given the history of that particular idea. But the real story of Conference 2010 was at the grassroots - typical, then, that it seems to have been buried.

Election Diary: T- 19: Canvass and Class; Gaeilge and Gas; Saints and Libert-ass!

Apologies for missing out on a couple of days of posting. The campaign tends to have other priorities that can take their toll on the blogging, but I hope to make it a clean run to the count.

Our third last weekend on the campaign trail and the work gets more intense as we move closer to June 5th.

I missed out on the launch of the Labour for South Dublin CoCo campaign in Tallaght on Friday, though you can see the pics from here on. If the old saying that pictures speak a thousand words rings true, I was at least spoken for!

The reason for missing the press conference was simple - work! As a schoolteacher in Scoil Maelruain Sinsear in Old Bawn I think it's important for my political campaign remains separate from my professional work, although that certainly requires a lot of effort to avoid conflicts of interest. And that includes blogging - it's somewhat easier to blog for 32 ten year-olds than a gaggle of politically hungry adults!

The staff at my school have been very supportive and the kids haven't missed the posters on the nearby roads. The younger ones think it's for the "Teacher of the Year" competition and are at their own teachers to get their own posters up; the older ones have promised me that all their mams and dads will vote for me - I've not got the heart to tell them that they're just yards across the border in Tallaght South and won't have the chance one way or the other!

One of our campaign team in Templeogue had a visit from Cllr Colm Brophy of Fine Gael over the weekend (his site at colmbrophy.ie has not been activated all campaign). Failing to spot the "Dermot Looney" poster in the window, Colm engaged our colleague in a discussion on health service reform, before our team member brought up the proposed privatisation of Bord Gáis. Colm came out with the standard response and promoted George Lee's candidature, an interesting technique several miles from the Dublin South border. The highlight of the discussion was when our man, a Gaeilgeoir and Irish language enthusiast, raised the issue of Fine Gael's dropping of compulsory Irish from the Leaving Cert curriculum. Cllr Brophy's response was that Fine Gael were in touch with the needs of people in rural Ireland. Our man, born and bred Dubliner, was none too pleased. Ó, mo léan!

Our own canvass is going really well and we are covering the ground faster than I had hoped due to the strong numbers we are getting out. We always need more though, so drop me a mail to get involved in what must be the youngest and most vibrant local election campaign team in Ireland!

There is certainly huge support for my campaign and the Labour Party - and Eamon Gilmore's leadership and popularity comes up frequently. But running counter to the positive aspects, there's the horrific stories of lives and families ruined by the Government and their policies. I've seen unbridled anger, tears and utter cynicism in the faces of those who've been hit hardest by the recession; I've listened to tales of jobs lost, incomes destroyed, bonuses stolen amd beckoning emigration from people who did nothing to cause this mess and who are baffled by bank bailouts and government arrogance in the face of their hardship.

It is very common to have people admitting - often shamefully - that they voted Fianna Fáil all their lives but will not do so again. Our challenge is to convince them that Labour is the real alternative - how well we are doing will be found out on June 6th.

The Euro elections are coming up more and more as people decide on their vote. Proinsias de Rossa MEP, who was out with us a few weeks back, is Labour's candidate in a Dublin constituency which is losing a seat. Last week's poll showed him doing well, but he'll be fighting to top the poll and ensure Labour keep a seat in Dublin. Libertas' campaign is particularly nasty and it will be pleasing indeed to see Caroline Simons, who is running a creatively-funded six-figure campaign on the reactionary right, bomb at the polls.

The Lisbon Treaty has only come up a few times and I've been honest on the doors; the Labour Party supports it, but, as part of a tradition of dissent in the Labour Party which has dated back to 1973 and beyond, I voted against. I've had respect from both sides for my honesty on the issue, which I've also replicated in other 'potential banana-skin' issues, from the serious, such as access to abortion, to the not-so, such as my views on Jeff Kenna's management at St Pat's.

I only made the second half of the Sligo game in Richmond Park on Friday night after our canvass, only to see Pat's throw away first a 1-0 lead, and then a 2-1 lead. I thought that missing so many Pat's games would be a negative point in the campaign, but given our record this season, I'm not as upset as I might have been! Hopefully, come the Shamrock Rovers home game on July 3rd, they'll be able to change the name on my season ticket to "Cllr Dermot Looney?!"

Eamon Gilmore Video

This video was shown at the Labour Conference in Mullingar. It's well-made and well worth a look for anyone interested in a third political alternative for Ireland.



PS - there's a special appearance from 21 seconds on :)

Labour’s Looney Launches “Campaign for Community and Change”

Dermot Looney, the 26 year old Labour Party candidate for next year’s local election in Tallaght Central, launched his campaign on Monday October 13^th at a rally in the Greenhills Community Centre. Looney was joined in launching the campaign by Labour leader Eamon Gilmore TD, local TD Pat Rabbitte, Mayor Marie Corr and outgoing Councillor Eamonn Walsh.

Looney, who works as a primary school teacher in Tallaght, has been campaigning for election since March 2008 but was previously involved in a range of local, national and international movements, including anti-war and anti-racist activism, development issues and workers’ rights campaigns.

Speaking to a crowd of more than 70 local residents and supporters, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore noted Looney’s commitment to local communities in Greenhills and the wider Tallaght area as the hallmark of Labour representation. “In Dermot Looney, local people have a vibrant, energetic and committed young candidate; a rising star who represents all that is best about Labour values,” noted Gilmore.

Outgoing Cllr Eamonn Walsh, who was presented with crystal from his native Tipperary to mark his impending retirement from the Council, noted that Looney was the best hope for local people at a time when the Government hit working people hardest. Local TD Pat Rabbitte called Looney “a magnificent organiser” and said that, along with fellow candidates Mick Duff and Pamela Kearns, Labour offered the real alternative in the new Tallaght Central Ward.

Thanking his supporters and the gathered guests, Looney said that “the politics and ideas of Labour are a strong currency in this ward. With Labour, there is no question of political donation from the powerful developers and the other interests that fund the conservative parties in Ireland. When a local person meets a Labour rep, they don't need to scratch their heads and ask ‘what side are they on?’”

“Our campaign is different. I am standing up for communities across Tallaght Central. I am standing for a radical change in how the Council works, where working people, the elderly and the excluded get the breaks – not developers, speculators and friends of Fianna Fáil.”

“Labour are the real alternative for Tallaght Central. Fianna Fáil must not be allowed to get away with it again. Fine Gael offer nothing but a conservative critique. At least the PD’s, whose policies have caused much of the mess, have had the decency to admit defeat and walk off the stage,” said Looney.