Pat Rabbitte Abandoned in Sligo

sligo | miscellaneous | news report

Friday April 09, 2004 03:07

by G Hawk

The acquisition by the Labour Party in Sligo of former Blueshirt, Jimmy McGarry, has sundered the party in the constituency. So fraught are things in the Sligo-North Leitrim constituency that party leader, Pat Rabbitte, was literally abandoned by former deputy and party standard-bearer in Sligo, Cllr Declan Bree, on a recent tour of the constituency.

Bree and comrades are old-fashioned socialists who do not understand the modern dynamic of Rabbitte’s new Labour strategy; ie, get into government via any means, with any partners and with any politics.

In this sense, Sligo Town and County councillor, Alderman Jimmy McGarry, a long-standing member of Fine Gael, is much more on Rabbitte’s wavelength and Rabbitte forced through McGarry’s membership of the local Labour Party in the teeth of stiff resistance from Bree and comrades. The latter were a little concerned at accepting a long-standing Blueshirt who had supported bin charges, privatisation of local services, US landing rights in Shannon, etc (see the Phoenix, 24/10/03)

The were also baffled at Rabbitte’s support for a man who last year had negotiated for several months with local PD members – as well as nationally with PD General Secretary, John Higgins – about the terms under which he would join that party.

That McGarry should want to join the arch Tories (as Rabbitte would describe the PDs) and only fell back on Labour when Harney et al declined to pledge him a senate nomination at the next election, enraged Sligo members. But this also raises the question of what exactly Rabbitte promised McGarry in order to prise him away from the PDs.

McGarry is a strong vote getter who topped the poll in the West area of Sligo Corporation in 1999 and who also retained his county council seat with ease at the same election. Rabbitte is intent on standing both Bree and McGarry at the next General Election and Bree’s supporters see this as ridiculous given the clear socialist campaigns they have campaigned on over the years.

When Rabbitte visited Sligo recently, local party officers made a tentative agreement to separate the party leader’s tour between the respective baronies of the Bree and McGarry camps. However, when Bree and co saw McGarry intruding into their part of the tour, they abandoned Rabbitte in mid-stream, leaving McGarry to escort his new ‘comrade’ throughout the rest of the constituency.
(From the Phoenix 9/4/04. Page 10)

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Comments (10 of 10)

Cllr. Bree's Record

by Bree Cheese

Fri Apr 09, 2004 15:42

"Bree and comrades are old-fashioned socialists who do not understand the modern dynamic of Rabbitte’s new Labour strategy; ie, get into government via any means, with any partners and with any politics."

Declan Bree voted for coalition with Fianna Fáil AND Fine Gael. Just look at the Dáil record! Bree also voted in favour of tax amnesties, water tax, water disconnection of non-payers, corporation tax cuts, etc. Some old fashioned socialist he is!

Cllr Bree's Record

by Brendan

Fri Apr 09, 2004 16:19

Old -fashioned socialists my hat! Bree is just the same as Michael D. Higgins, Joe Costello, Braughan etc. If they were genuine socialists they wouldn't enter into coalition with any of the conservative or right-wing parties.

Joe Higgins is the only socialist in the Dail.

get the voters out!

by john mcdermott - remove Fianna Fail Party

Fri Apr 09, 2004 23:41

ashtown,Dublin

Re'Cllr Bree's record",by Brendan,-You have it in one about the only Socialist in the Dail-Joe Higgins.
Unfortunately the rest feel obliged to compromise their integrity in a big bad world which seems effectively controlled by the rich and powerful-not the electorate.Being in power means access to money,such as the 300 million euro 'slush'fund from the bank accounts of the dead-a useful tool for buying voters in any election campaign!
What matters during the coming months is that all of the marginalized and disillusionized who have a vote ,and one chance only,every few years ,to change this rotten society-that they cast that vote on election day.First on local elections ;-second in the general election.
Remember that the crooks,the shysters,the'looked after' electorate in the Fianna Fail camp turn out en-block like a regimented nazi style force on election day.
The reason they win time after time is not because they are a majority-but because they are disciplined while the opposition is fragmented and in many cases do not vote at all!

Brendan

by Cynic

Sat Apr 10, 2004 16:16

You praise the SP but under their "Militant" disguise they spent 20 years in Labour. They stayed in Labour during 3 coalition governments. Even when Irish Shiping workers were thrown at the side of the street, Offences against the State act used against ESB strikers, hospitals closed down, none of this caused theSP to lwave Labour. They kept preaching that everyone had to join labour.

Agreeance with Cynic

by Socialist Republican

Sat Apr 10, 2004 16:22

Cynic is correct to point out Labour's indifference to working class suffering. While the party undoubtedly has very genuine socialists amongst its ranks, they might be better off defecting.

Actually

Sat Apr 10, 2004 16:34

I was pointing out that the SP are in no position to criticise the genuine socialists who remain in Labour now. When the SP were in labour, workers died due to hospital closures, yet Militant continued to argue that there was no salvation outside of Labour.

Reply to 'Cynic' (*cough* Manus Bree *cough*)

by MIM

Sat Apr 10, 2004 17:07

Militant always argued against coalition government and the trechorous disgusting policies implemented by the FG/Labour governments including all those mentioned by yourself. Militant members NEVER participated in a coalition government. For this staunch opposition to the right wing leadership the Militant tendency were witch-hunted and expelled from the party.

I note that Cllr Bree and other so called 'labour left' people did not launch a principled opposition to the Labour leadership when they statrted doing coalition deals and attacking workers. Instead he sat on his hands and took the easy root by becoming voting fodder for the Reynolds government.

If the Labour Party still has genuine working class activists and socialists where are they?? Why don't they organise in an attempt to overthrow the right wing leadership??

No socialists left in Labour

Sat Apr 10, 2004 17:13

"genuine socialists in Labour"

where are they? There is no sign whatsoever apart from literally one or two exceptions of there being socialist activists in Labour. Who are these people? where is the evidence of such a group? where is their news paper/publications? Where is the evidence of them being active in the left of trade unions and in community struggles?

They don't exist, they are a phantom.

To those one or two that are genuine I would invite you to leave the Party. They are a right wing party that is going further in a Blairite direction, just look at their stance on the Citizenship referendum. They refuse to take a position! that is a disgrace! Today on the Radio (RTE 1 at 1pm) Gilmore even alleged that there were thousends of immighrants coming to Ireland just to have babies and that this had to stop! And Gilmore is meant to be on the 'left' of the Labour Party!!

Militant Members?

by Toraidh

Sat Apr 10, 2004 20:02

Militant members did things? How did militant members do things when militant was a newspaper and didn't have members? When the leninist infiltrators were in the labour party millies said militant wasn't an organisation, after they got expelled for organising in secret they boast about the things 'militant members' did.
Typical leninists - lying, deceitful opportunists.

Militant members

Mon Apr 12, 2004 17:49

If Militant at the time of being in the Labour Party said that they had members they would be expelled for being 'a party within a party'. The reason members were not refered to a members was not to give further fuel to the right wing who were busy organising purges of left wingers and socialists that were in the Labour Party.

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Pat Rabbitte Abandoned in Sligo

Comments (10 of 10)