The 25 councillors who have left
the Labour Party over its role in government
It’s not a list which will make good
reading for Eamon Gilmore or those still in the Labour Party…
THEJOURNAL.IE 30/10/2013
Updated 4.10pm
AS THE JUNIOR coalition party,
Labour has taken the brunt of the criticism for its role in the coalition
government over the last two-and-a-half years.
Having now passed the mid-point of
its term in government, the party has already suffered a number of high-profile
departures from its parliamentary party, including a junior health minister and
its chairman.
But at a local level Labour is also
suffering and not just in the polls.
TheJournal.ie now estimates that a total of 25 councillors or nearly 10 per cent
of its total number have left the party since 2011.
All of those directly identified
Labour’s role in government as the main or one of the reasons for their
departure. The list does not include those
who have retired or left for other reasons.
In chronological order, here is the
full list of resignations so far…
(Note: This article has been
updated noting that Paul Bell did not resign from the Labour Party
while Noel Frawley was a former councillor when he resigned his
membership. The article has also been updated to add the names of Paul O’Shea, Billy
Bourke, Bobby Dunphy, Frank McBrearty and Paddy Bourke)
2011
1.
Granard town councillor Tommy
Stokes resigned from the party in October, saying he had become
“disillusioned” with Labour in the seven months since it entered coalition. He
even revealed his intentions to vote for Seán Gallagher and not Michael D
Higgins as president.
2. In November, Clonmel councillor Gabrielle Egan quit
Labour, saying that she did not feel comfortable with the decisions the party
was making in government, less than a year after it had entered coalition.
3.
Macroom town councillor Con
Foley quit the party in December of that year, saying that it had continued
the policies of the previous administration since going into government with
Fine Gael, a move he had not originally been in favour of.
4. New Ross town councillor Bobby Dunphy resigned from
Labour over the coalition’s first Budget which he described as the “last straw”
in December of that year. Dunphy later resigned from the council altogether
resulting in the seat reverting back to Labour who co-opted one of its members
on to it. Dunphy said this was part of an agreement with local Labour members
and said his gripe was with the party’s “top brass”.
2012
5.
Things were relatively quiet until
April of last year when Mary Loftus, the mayor of Tuam, quit the
party, saying part of the
reason was Labour’s performance in
government. She also referred scathingly to Finance Minister Michael Noonan as
a “moron”.
6. Ennis town councillor Paul O’Shea tendered his
resignation from the party in September over “draconian cuts” to home and
community care.
7.
South Tipperary county councillor Darren
Ryan resigned in November, saying that Labour had “forgotten its founders
and birthplace”.
8. Fellow South Tipp councillor Billy Bourke also resigned
that month, citing disillusionment with the party and the lack of opposition to
the abolition of town councils.
9.
Clonakilty-based councillor Aidan
Pendlebury resigned in December – one of a number to quit over the Budget –
citing the “constant refusal” of the parliamentary party to listen to
councillors.
10.
Also that month, former Progressive
Democrats TD and Longford town councillor Mae Sexton, left the
Labour just two years after she joined it, citing concerns over the Budget.
11.
Midleton town councillor Tom
Cashman hit out at Labour’s broken promises and also the decisions in
relation to the Budget when he resigned in the same month.
2013
12.
The year began with Wexford
councillor and former mayor David Hynes hitting out at the party,
resigning over its policy in government. He said Labour was turning its back on
the people it claimed to represent.
13.
In March, Tipperary County
councillor Bobby Fitzgerald resigned his seat and as a member of Labour telling of his concerns over the party losing “its core values”.
14.
This summer and autumn has been a
bloodbath for Labour with a raft of resignations. In May, Limerick city
councillor and mayor Gerry McLoughlin quit the party, identifying a lack
of support for projects in his community.
15 and 16. In June two members of
Wicklow County Council, Tom Fortune and Barry Nevin, resigned after the Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore failed to respond to their
request for a meeting. Fortune said that the leadership had “totally lost
touch” with councillors.
17. Also that month, Galway County
councillor Shaun Cunniffe also left the party but it wasn’t austerity which did it for him, rather it was the
party’s position on abortion and the decision to legislate for the X Case.
18. In July, Meath county
councillor Jenny McHugh defected to Fianna Fáil, saying it had become
increasingly clear that Fianna Fáil and not Labour
shared her values.
19. The former mayor of Fingal
County Council Cian O’Callaghan also resigned in July saying that Labour was
lacking a backbone. “Of course, there has to be
compromises,” he said of coalition. “But it hasn’t been fair at all.”
20. In September, Newbridge town
councillor Damian Molyneaux said he was “disillusioned with the whole
lot” when he resigned in September.
21. Also in Kildare that month, the
party lost Athy town councillor and mayor Thomas Redmond, who defected
to Sinn Féin and criticised Labour’s
“lies” and “broken promises”.
22. In October, Skibbereen town
councillor Frank Fahy quit the party, citing its arrogance in power,
comparing it to Fianna Fáil in government.
23. In the same month, Donegal
county councillor and former mayor Frank McBrearty Jr resigned from
Labour, citing broken promises by the party.
24. Yesterday, Killarney town
councillor and former mayor Seán O’Grady criticised the party’s abandonment of “red line issues”, saying the people
paying the price of austerity are the ones the party has historically protected.
First published 10.24am
Sinn Féin Mountmellick – Serving The Community
All those people stuck to their PRINCIPLES unlike you who don't!
ReplyDelete