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Time for reform?

November 23, 2007 by stretchneil

I’m very fortunate to be in a position to write this post without sounding bitter.  I noticed a number of flaws with the NEC election process during the last couple of months of campaigning.  Fortunately, as I was successful, I now have the opportunity to voice those concerns.

I’ll start with the major issues.  The NEC elections are skewed massively in favour of those from large constituencies, and the majority of voters vote for their local candidate as opposed to the person who they believe will best represent the views of the members.  They are also weighted towards members of the Parliamentary Labour Party or their staff, who have greater access to the membership database.  And they are weighted towards constituencies who have sitting TDs or Senators, who can provide Oireachtas envelopes or colour printing to their local candidates.  Each of these problems needs to be addressed separately.

Constituencies with large numbers of members can usually elect a candidate of their own quite securely, with little or no external support.  Perhaps that is as it should be, as people in these constituencies clearly believe that electing a local representative is the best way of securing their own interests.  However, I would argue that protecting the interests of any particular constituency is anathema to the spirit in which the NEC was created.  Our National Executive Committee should be interested in development of the party as a whole, and representative of the politics, ambitions and needs of all of our members.  It should not be concerned with redirecting party resources to the constituencies of NEC members.

I do not believe that members of the PLP should be allowed seek direct election to the NEC.  That is not a comment on the abilities of PLP members who have sought direction in the past, but reflects my concern at the ability of the PLP to occasionally dominate the voices of the membership.  That Chairperson, Leader, Deputy Leader and Party President are all members of the PLP, and the PLP get two additional representatives of their own to the NEC.  The two additional members of the Management Sub-Committee are often also members of the PLP, and get attendance and speaking rights at NEC meetings.  That’s a possible 8 PLP voices at the NEC table - more than enough in my view (on a side point, with our number of councillors rapidly rising, I believe Labour Councillors should also get to nominate 2 members to the NEC, as opposed to the current 1).  However, even boyond my objection to members of the NEC seeking direct election, there is a larger issue with members of the PLP and/or PLP staff seeking direct election, and that is the potential for unfair advantage.  During this NEC campaign, all candidates were furnished with a list of envelope labels for all branch secretaries, constituency secretaries, PLP members and councillors.  However, those employed/formerly employed in Leinster House were able to get the names and addresses of all delegates to Party Conference - a massive advantage over the rest of us.  We need to set about to better prevent such unfair advantages in future.

The third issue is then with candidates who have access to a local TD or Senator.  I was very fortunate to have the backing of several members of the PLP.  However, as these members were not in my local area, they felt unable to back me publicly, and could therefore provide little in the way of resources.  Other candidates had the  advantage of availing of free postage (through Oireachtas envelopes) and colour printing, while candidates without this advantage were forced to pay for such items.

The recent NEC elections went some way towards turning the system on it’s head.  Myself, Paul Dillon, Marie Sherlock, Mary Quinn and Brendan Carr were all elected to the NEC despite having relatively low support bases from which to work.  However, the work that went into those campaigns was vastly beyond the work that was required from other candidates who enjoyed the advantages of large home constituencies.  And by work, I mean travelling, financial investment, phonecalls, countless meetings, letter writing, leaflet drafting……

Now, that’s over 700 words on things that are wrong with the system (and I could easily go on), so I want to start making some suggestions for improvements.  These are open to debate and discussion, but I would like to move towards presenting a new proposal on NEC elections to the next motion-based Conference, and I think the best time to start drafting such a motion is in the immediate aftermath of an election, when the flaws of the current system remain fresh in our minds.

1. Members of the PLP will not be permitted to stand for direct election to the NEC

2. All candidates will be invited to submit 500 words outlining their election manifesto, along with one photograph to Head Office, one month in advance of National Conference.  These will be compiled into one booklet, and distributed along with the finalised motions for Party Conference.

3. Each candidate will be invited to become a member of the Online Members’ Forum, and participate in debate through that avenue.

4. Head Office will organise a series of Regional hustings to which all candidates will be invited.  This will enable members to have access to the party membership, and limit the need for candidates to attend multiple branch and constituency meetings.

5. Once the delegate list is finalised, each candidate will be provided with a list of email addresses for all delegates.  Candidates will be forbidden from posting letters seeking support to individual delegates.  This will allow equal access to the membership to all candidates, and will also reduce the enormous amounts of paper wasted on NEC campaigns.

6. No leaflets will be permitted in the Conference Hall under any circumstances.

7. Leafletting of party members will be permitted outside the Conference Hall on Friday evening of Conference, and until opening of polls on Saturday.  Once polls have opened, no further leaflets may be distributed.

8. Voting will take place in an appropriately sized room, closed off from all main areas of congregation.  Only those with validly stamped delegate cards will be permitted entry to this room.

9. Voting will take place by secret ballot, and no member will be permitted to check/observe the voting of another.

10. Counting of NEC ballots will take place using the Seanad methods, with the gender quota applied only at the end of the count.

So, they are the 10 steps that I would propose to begin a debate on how we should overhaul the system.  And an appropriate way for this blog to end.  I’ll post a link to the new one once it exists, but for now I’ll say goodbye, and thanks for reading!

Posted in Internal democracy, Irish Labour Party, Labour, Neil Ward | No Comments »

Thanks

November 19, 2007 by stretchneil

Well, I made it!  Elected fourth out of fifteen to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party, and I’m really thrilled (and a touch exhausted!).

At risk of being terribly dull and predictable, there are some people I have to thank.  Ross Higgins and Keith Martin most of all - they acted as campaign managers, voter whips, canvassers extraordinaire and election agents, and I’m extremely grateful to them.  My sister Sadhbh was immense this weekend - a new member of the Labour Party, she didn’t stop canvassing from the time we arrived until polls closed.  Paul Daly, Claire Moss, Niamh Hayes, Jonathan McDade, Daniel Stanford, Carl Fox and Padraig DeBurca were all centrally involved in this campaign, and I appreciate all the help.

I’d also like to thank Cllr. Paddy Bourke, Cllr. Lettie McCarthy and Cllr. Seanie Lonergan for publicly supporting me, as well of all those who did so privately for one reason or another.

The first NEC meeting of the new committee will take place on December 1st.  The first pledge which I will be fulfilling will be the dissemination of reports of NEC meetings to all interested members.  Anyone interested in receiving this report can contact me at neil.ward@votelabour.ie

11,000 words, 10 weeks, 24/28 (can’t remember now!) branch/constituency meetings, 2 leaflet print-runs, two separate letters, hundreds of phonecalls and countless emails later, I’ve made it!  This blog will probably be shut down completely soon, but I’ll be making one more post in the next few days, outlining some of my concerns with the process of NEC elections, and hopefully some proposals for how the method of election could be updated.

For now, I’m just happy, relieved and exhausted!!

Posted in Irish Labour Party, Labour, Neil Ward | 2 Comments »

Finally, Irish Politics enters the 21st Century

November 13, 2007 by stretchneil

Labour UStream pageI’m thrilled.  Delighted, and thrilled.  Labour have decided to really take a radical step forward in the political use of the interweb in an Irish context.  Obviously, there has been some online campaigning going on in Ireland for years, with resources such as Politics.ie allowing debate, Elections Ireland providing all the stats and figures you’ll ever want, IrishElection.com and Slugger O’Toole providing opinion, and of course a list of bloggers such as Twenty and Mulley occasionally throwing their oars in on political topics.

But recently, the pace has risen somewhat.  The last few years have seen Labour begin to take the lead somewhat, with Eric Byrne, Liz McManus, Aodhán Ó’Riordán and Joanna Tuffy all starting to blog, and soon enough Ciarán Cuffe and Roderic O’Gorman of the Greens had followed suit.  Bebo was big during the election, though I’m inclined to think it was more of a desperate attempt by some FG politicians (in particular) to make themselves seem ‘down with the kids’.  And of course, we saw videos broadcast on the websites of all the major parties in the run-up to the election.

Since the election, the Greens have been slagged off by the Examiner for not updating their website, Lucinda Creighton had her blog hack by someone posting about Native American fables (great story, courtesy of the Sunday Tribune last week!), while Labour have gone from strength to strength.

We now regularly post videos from Dáil debates onto the frontpage of the website, and I’m delighted to see that the public comments have been enabled on most news stories posted to the site.  Our internal discussion board is now well up and running, with hundreds of members active in just a few months.  My only little remaining gripe has been that Labour Equality remain without a page of their own (unlike Labour Youth and Labour Women).

But what has happened this week has really been outstanding.  Labour Party Conference takes place in Wexford this weekend, with all debates streamed live on our own Ustream channel.  The same stream will also include Q&A sessions with party spokespeople, based on questions posted to the comments section of this page.  Key speeches will be uploaded to our YouTube site, while our Twitter, Flickr and blog will all be updated during the weekend, while the Labour site will see results of elections (ahem, such as the NEC!) posted, as well as virtual votes on some of the motions!

I’ve long been a fan of online campaigning, and I’m really thrilled we’ve finally started to completely embrace these new forms of media available to us.

Posted in Irish Labour Party, Labour, Online campaigning | 2 Comments »

Just 10 days left to go….

November 7, 2007 by stretchneil

So there are now just 10 days left to go, and the NEC contest is fairly heating up.  I started this blog 6 weeks ago, not long after I had kicked off my campaign for election to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party.  This blog has the privelege of being the first ever website devoted to a campaign for election to the NEC, and has been accompanied by Bebo and Facebook campaigns to boot.  In the last six weeks, I’ve typed over 10,000 words on this blog, and it’s now getting over 150 visits a week, while the number of friends who have joined the Bebo and Facebook campaigns are very encouraging. 

During the campaign, I started off with a brief biography of myself for those who may not have known me previously.  I’ve also posted my views on a range of political discussions, such as compulsory union recognition, the 2007 Constituency Commission report, and most publicly, the Civil Unions Bill 2006 (here, here, here and here!!).

While spending some time commenting on political issues of the day, I thought it was even more important to spend time outlining my ideas for areas of the Labour Party which need to be addressed by the incoming NEC, and my views on some challenges which face the party in the coming years.  To this end, I began by outlining my five key election commitments here.  I also addressed the disappointing turnout for the Deputy Leadership election, ways in which I believe we can increase party membership, how to ensure Eamon Gilmore can participate in the next Leaders’ TV debate, our relationship with the SDLP, and improving Youth Participation at all levels of the Party.

I don’t think this internet campaign will have a massive impact on the election result.  Nevertheless, I think it has been really helpful as a place to direct people towards to allow them to find out more about me as a candidate, as well as providing me with an outlet within which I could hone my own message.  Internet political campaigning can only continue to grow in Ireland, and I’m delighted that I’ve been able to bring such campaigning to the Labour Party NEC Elections - hopefully it will be a trend for others to follow in future campaigns.

Obviously, I’ve been campaigning offline also, with leaflets and letters being sent off to members around the country and my phonebill rapidly rising by the minute!  The most fun aspect for me, however, has been physically visiting branches and constituencies to canvass for support.  Trinity College Branch are hosting a hustings between a lot of the various candidates this evening, and it is the 20th branch/constituency meeting I’ve attended over the last 6 weeks.  My five minute speech is now virtually set in stone, but I really enjoy the Q&A sessions which normally follow such meetings - they allow members to ask questions that interest them, and provide us with much more of a challenge than delivering our speeches.

There are still 10 days to go, and I’m not closing down the blog just yet, but I thought this was a good opportunity to have a quick look back at the campaign.  Roll on November 17th!

Posted in Irish Labour Party, Labour, Neil Ward | No Comments »

Civil Unions Part IV

November 5, 2007 by stretchneil

The Civil Unions Bill 2006 is now dead, after the motion to restore the bill to the Order Paper was deleted, and replaced with a series of truisms and half-promises.  This happened on Thursday last, but I’ve held off on posting about it over the weekend, as I wanted to consider my views before putting them to print.

Firstly, I want to respond to some points raised by Roderic O’Gorman of the Green Party on his blog, which I find to be completely incredible.  In this post, he claims to be ‘getting past the spin’ to outline the genuine Green Party position, and I want to point out some fundamental flaws with his argument.  Roderic claims that “the bill (the proposed Civil Partnership Bill which we’ve been promised heads of only in March next year) is to deal solely with creating civil partnerships for same-sex couples based on the options presented by the Colley Repo [sic]“.  So far, it sounds remarkably like the Labour Civil Unions Bill.  He then bizarrely goes on to say that the proposed bill will allow “…heterosexual couples in dependant relationships can seek redress in the event of their relationship breaking up or one party dying”, which is (quite remarkably) followed by a statement that “The Civil Partnership Bill will not be providing for a new registration scheme for heterosexual couples.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but these sentences seem terribly contradictory to me.  Firstly, it will be for same-sex couples only.  Then it will allow for heterosexual couples to claim redress in the event of break-up or death.  And then it won’t be a registration scheme for heterosexual couples.  I’d like to see Roderic genuinely cut through his own party’s spin, and adequately explain the provisions which he believes will be included in the Government Bill, and elaborate in more detail on how it differs from the Labour Bill.  In particular, I’d be really grateful if he, or any other Green Party spokesperson could outline why exactly the Government keep saying the Civil Unions Bill was unconstitutional, without ever outlining the reasons for this belief (which I believe to be flawed, based on legal advice provided to the Labour Party).

Roderic then goes on to rather cynically compare himself to Katherine Zappone and Anne-Louise Gilligan, who he might be interested to learn were in the Dáil gallery on Wednesday night in support of the Labour Bill.  Labour have never claimed that our Bill represented full equality, but rather that it was an important step in the right direction - the Green Party acknowledged that in February. It’s a shame they were too cowardly to do so again last week.

Ciarán Cuffe, on the other hand, has the decency to be annoyed about the non-publication of the Attorney General’s advice on the matter.  I thought Ciarán was poor during the debate to be honest, but I can appreciate the difficult situation he’s in.  At least he’s not pretending the Greens have a right to be all righteous on the matter.

Maman Poulet has been blogging excellently on the issue over the last week, and the Greens have particularly annoyed her.

Michael D’s contribution to the debate was astonishing.  He got a little distracted over the last minute or two, but it was an excellent speech, and he deserves enormous credit for it.

Finian McGrath is more deserving of my bile than ever, but that’s a story for another day.

And so, Fianna Fáil have done it to us again, and the Bill is now dead.  We’ve been promised Heads of the Civil Partnerships Bill by March 2008, and we may get to see actual legislation some time in 2009.  Which means there’s a possibility we’ll have something by 2011.  I’m not expecting it to be good though.

In light of the demise of the bill, Labour LGBT are holding a vigil outside the Dáil on Thursday of this week at 6.30pm.  If anyone wants more details, they can feel free to contact me.

Posted in Irish Labour Party, Labour, Labour LGBT, Neil Ward | 5 Comments »

Labour and SDLP

November 5, 2007 by stretchneil

SDLP logoI spent the weekend attending SDLP Conference in the Armagh City Hotel.  This was my second full SDLP Conference, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Attending political conferences as a visitor is a terrific experience - it’s like a proper conference, without any of the responsibility!  Rather predictably, given the recent moves by Fianna Fáil, there was a good deal of tension within the Conference regarding the future of the party, with a closed session scheduled for Sunday morning to discuss motions proposing a breaking of links with New Labour, criticism of Irish Labour for the Seanad deal with Sinn Féin, and a proposal to immediately begin negotiations with Fianna Fáil about a merger.

Fortunately, none of these motions passed, and instead the Conference overwhelmingly voted to set up a review group to consider their options - a wise move in my mind.  I believe the SDLP are best served currently by remaining an independent party, and overhauling their organisational structures prior to considering any possible merger in the future.  I also believe that any move to merge with either Fianna Fáil or Labour would result in the resignation of swathes of SDLP members, leaving moderate nationalists considerably weaker than the sum of their parts have been.

While the weekend involved a lot of soul-searching for SDLP, it also provided enormous food for thought for Labour members in attendance.  It is clear that a new political dispensation has been established in the North, and within the next few years, we may well see a United Ireland.  In that context, we must begin to consider whether the existing political cleavages (Nationalist vs. Unionist in the North, Civil War divisions in the South) are likely to remain, or if the removal of the border is likely to stimulate a new political cleavage in Irish politics.  For example, would abolition of the border result in a cleavage between hard-line Nationalists (Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin) against more moderate elements (Labour, SDLP, Fine Gael, UUP), or might we actually see a right-left cleavage in Irish politics (Fianna Fáil, UUP, DUP, Fine Gael against Labour, Greens, SDLP, SF)?

To look briefly at what situation might emerge, I think it’s helpful to draw a picture of some likely events.  As reunification would require constitutional amendment anyway, I would imagine the opportunity will be taken to extend the number of TDs in Dáil Éireann.  The current population of 4,234,925 are represented by 166 TDs, so extending the level of representation to the North would leave a new total of 232 (25,512 population per seat, current NI population 1,685,000 as of the Census on 2001).  Using the current levels of representation to the Assembly, and applying these to the 66 new Dáil seats (not unreasonable given the same PR-STV system is in use, though the larger parties could probably expect a little seat bonus due to reduced constituency size), would make a new Dáil consisting of:

Fianna Fáil - 78

Fine Gael - 51

DUP - 22

Sinn Féin - 21 (17 North & 4 existing)

Labour - 20

UUP - 11

SDLP - 10

Green - 7 (1 North & 6 existing)

Alliance - 4

PD - 2

PUP - 1

Independents - 5

Now, suddenly 116 votes would be required to elect a Taoiseach.  A grand nationalist coalition of FF, SF and SDLP would only have 109.  A grand left coalition of SF, Labour, SDLP, Green and PUP would only have 59, though that figure would jump to 110 if FG were brought into the arrangement.  A Christian democratic coalition of FG, DUP, UUP would have 84, still a long way short.  Now, while this has been a fun exercise, it’s far from accurate, as there will almost certainly be mergers in such a situation, as well as a new election which would change the numbers.

The point though, is to show that it remains unclear what the new political cleavage will be, with none of the options I’ve outlined above having the numbers for a majority Government.  It is in this context that we must consider our relationship with the SDLP.  It is unfair for us to criticise them everytime they take a policy stance that differs slightly from our view of things.  Equally, it is unfair for their members to criticise us for a Seanad voting pact which we used to maximise our numbers in the Oireachtas.  I still support the desire of Northern Ireland Labour Forum to contest Local Elections in the North, as I believe we can help increase the left-wing vote in the North, that we can attract a vote which SDLP may not attract, and we can increase the level of co-operation between our parties.  I think it is absolutely proper that both ourselves and SDLP establish working groups/commissions to investigate all potential ramifications of us contesting Local Elections or of us looking to strengthen our links with SDLP.  Political decisions which have the potential to radically alter the face of Irish politics in coming years should not be made lightly, but nor should we be afraid of making them.  I applaud the SDLP decision not to give in to pressure for a merger, but to take time to consider their position carefully.  I look forward to applauding a decision of the Labour Conference to consider organising and contesting in the North.  I don’t believe these decisions contradict each other in any way, or that they should negatively affect the relationships between our parties.

The new political dispensation leaves an  exciting, unclear future before us.  It’s time we started thinking about how we can win in that new dispensation.

Posted in Irish Labour Party, Labour, Neil Ward, SDLP | No Comments »

Good news for Labour

November 2, 2007 by stretchneil

TNS/MRBI/Irish Times logoAfter the depression of the RedC/SBP Poll last weekend, which showed almost complete stagnation across the board, Labour supporters will be a little more cheerful about the TNS-MRBI/Irish Times Poll published today, which shows Labour rising 5% to 15%.  Fine Gael rise 4% to 31% in the same poll, with Fianna Fáil taking the big whack for these gains, down 9 points to 33%.  All other parties effectively remain unchanged since the election, something which is hardly surprising given recent Government performance.

The biggest problem with this is that this is the first MRBI poll since May, and it will be at least another month before we have another poll.  And to be honest, it won’t be until we have three such post-election polls that I’d be really happy to draw any trends from the polling.

Nevertheless, good to see Fianna Fáil getting a kicking after last week’s debacles with Provisional Drivers and an Taoiseach’s payrise.  And as I say, it’s a nice little boost for Labour supporters.

Posted in Irish Elections, Irish Labour Party, Labour, Neil Ward | No Comments »

Civil Unions, Part III

October 31, 2007 by stretchneil

The Civil Unions Bill seems destined to suffer an almost identical fate once more, as the Government have tabled an amendment once again, this time delaying it to “the earliest possible date” instead of by 6 months:

“Amendment: 1. To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: “notes: — that legislative reform must be fully consistent with the relevant provisions of the Constitution; — the options identified by the Colley Group, including in particular for same-sex couples; — the Tenth Report of the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, on the Family, which recommended that civil partnership legislation should be provided for same-sex couples; — the report of the Law Reform Commission on the Rights and Duties of Cohabitants, which recommended provision of a redress mechanism for vulnerable dependent cohabitants at the termination of a relationship; and — the Government’s decision reflected in the Government Legislative Programme published on 27th September, 2007 to prepare a scheme of a Bill; supports the commitment in the Agreed Programme for Government to legislate for Civil Partnership at the earliest possible date in the lifetime of the Government, so as to establish a supportive legal framework for same-sex couples in committed relationships.”It’s going to be another depressing evening for LGBT activists tonight.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Civil Unions, Part II

October 31, 2007 by stretchneil

pride-photo.jpgTonight, from 7-8.30pm, will be the first stage of debate on a Private Members’ motion being introduced by Deputy Brendan Howlin (the second stage will take place at some point during tomorrow’s running order).  The motion will seek to restore the Civil Unions Bill to the Order Paper - a move which would see the Bill move straight to committee stage.  Eight months ago, Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats combined to vote to suspend the Bill for 6 months, knowing that doing so would delay the Bill until after the Dáil was dissolved, causing the Bill to automatically fall.

During the debate in February, Charlie O’Connor TD (FF, Dublin South-West) said: “Gay and lesbian people are members of our families. They are sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces. They are our neighbours, constituents and friends. It is not acceptable for them to be treated differently or unfairly.”  I have contacted him in advance of the debate tonight, and he assures me that he’s greatly concerned with my argument, and that he will be pushing for support within his party for the Bill to be allowed to proceed to committee stage.

Also speaking during that same debate, Fiona O’Malley TD (now Senator, PD deputy for Dún Laoghaire at the time), said: “The Labour Party is to be commended for introducing this Bill because it has brought the issue into sharp focus. As Deputy Andrews stated, the Government is responsible for being a little tardy in dealing with this issue. It puts it up to us as to whether we are prepared to legislate to grant equality to all citizens.”  Fine words indeed, and Fiona has rushed to assure all those around her since, that voting down the Civil Unions Bill was one of the toughest actions she had to take during the last Dáil session.  It remains to be seen whether 8 months later she can convince Mary Harney and Noel Grealish to reverse their stance on this issue.

Moving to those who sat on the other side of the house 8 months ago.  Finian McGrath TD (Ind, Dublin North-Central) at the time said: “Deputies should open their minds and hearts and support the Bill. It is concerned with accommodating and enjoying difference, diversity powering success and the gay, lesbian and bisexual people at the heart of Ireland’s progress. It is the right thing to do and I urge Deputies to support the legislation.”  Deputy McGrath is one of my local TDs, but his response to my emails has only been to confirm that he is committed to an equality agenda (ie - he won’t confirm whether he’ll be voting in favour or against the motion).

Satying with people who were in opposition 8 months ago, but are now serving in Government, the Greens are under attack at politics.ie and Maman Poulet, after Ciarán Cuffe made the odd decision to speak to Newstalk, outlining what seemed to be a U-turn on the Civil Unions Bill.  Attacking Michael McDowell 8 months ago, Deputy Cuffe (Green, Dún Laoghaire) said: “Still he has no indication on what he will do in the matter. Last night he claimed the Government was unequivocally in favour of treating gay and lesbian people as full equal citizens in our society. These are hollow words indeed from the other side of the House.”  Fine arguments indeed.  Now it appears that he has accepted the McDowell argument that we need to wait for a Supreme Court judgement in the Zappone case (an argument which doesn’t remotely stand up to scrutiny as it happens).

And so, it looks increasingly as though the motion is destined to fall, and Civil Unions will go back onto the back burner, smothered in kind words as people claim to support the idea of equality, but refuse to commit to legislate for such equality.  I think people should stop focussing all attacks on the Greens.  The PDs, Fianna Fáil and Finian McGrath also all included commitments to legislate for some form of Civil Unions/Civil Partnerships in recent statements or their election manifestos.  If they vote against this motion, they will be proving the fallacy of those promises.

Credit is due, by the way, to both Fine Gael and Sinn Féin, whose spokespeople (Charlie Flanagan and Aengus Ó’Snodaigh respectively) have contacted me to assure me they will be supporting the motion. 

Posted in Irish Labour Party, Labour, Labour LGBT, Neil Ward | No Comments »

Labour Youth Conference

October 30, 2007 by stretchneil

On Friday evening and Labour Youth delegates at Conference 2006Saturday, Labour Youth Conference (yes, that’s me in the front left of the photo, sitting beside my comrade and NEC opponent Paul Dillon!) took place in the ATGWU, attended by over 100 members of Labour Youth.  The Conference passed a range of motions, from support of legalisation of cannabis to support of an academic boycott on Israel, and from a call for Noel Dempsey to resign to a call for Labour to present themselves as a Labour-led coalition of progressive parties in the run-up to the next election.

The Conference also elected a new National Youth Executive, and after serving two terms as Vice-Chair & Campaigns Officer of Labour Youth, it was time for me to step aside and allow a new generation to take over.  It really has been a privelege and an honour to have been permitted to serve in this role by the members of Labour Youth for the last two years, and I’m very grateful to them for the opportunity.  I got the chance to lead campaigns, to learn how to issue press-releases and deliver speeches, to hone my political debating skills, and to learn the art of dissolving tensions in a room.  And I got to really get stuck into the kind of political campaigning I had longed for to that point.  In particular, I’d like to wish the best of luck to my replacement, Gary Honer from Dublin South-Central.

The weekend also saw Eamon Gilmore deliver an excellent speech (unfortunately that link is for a heavily edited version of the speech, as I suspect some of the original content may make it’s way into his speech to Party Conference) to Labour Youth Conference.  One complaint I’ve heard a couple of times from Labour members in relation to Eamon’s leadership thus far, was that they had yet to hear any of the big-picture visionary type of speeches at which Pat Rabbitte always excelled.  This speech changed that, as we began to see the formation of a political narrative that will allow Eamon to move beyond the impressive Dáil performances - a narrative that will allow non-aligned voters to see the appeal of the Labour Party.

Even more interestingly, was the Q&A session that followed between Eamon and LY members.  The last few Labour Youth Conferences have been marked with Q&A sessions during which the Party Leader was gruff, disengaged, distracted and occasionally downright grumpy.  This year was likened to a breath of fresh air, as Eamon was engaging, interested, jovial and friendly, and unafraid to coherently outline his views on a range of issues.  His answers may not always have been those desired by the Labour Youth membership, but he always went on to outline a convincing reason for his stance.  Undoubtedly, he’s enjoying the honeymoon period of his leadership, but long may that period continue!

Finally, I ended off the weekend with a trip down to South Tipperary, where Cllr. Seanie Lonergan is doing some terrific work defending mushroom pickers who have been found to be paid less than the minimum wage on many occasions.  It’s that kind of local campaigning that really stands to the Labour Party, and enormous credit is due to Cllr. Lonergan for taking the lead on this issue.

Posted in Irish Labour Party, Labour, Labour Youth, Neil Ward | No Comments »

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