Howlin calls for progressive transfers in Local & European elections
Speaking to the Labour Party Central Council, which will approve Labour’s policies for the local and European elections, Labour Leader, Brendan Howlin TD reiterated his call for progressive-minded voters to vote and transfer to all progressive candidates, and not to be fooled by the communication strategies of conservatives and populists.
Deputy Howlin said:
“At the next general election Fine Gael, will be seeking a mandate for nearly 15 continuous years in power. But the reality is that Fine Gael are already out of ideas and the country can’t afford five more years of ‘new politics’.
“It will fall to Labour and other progressive, constructive parties to point towards a better future for our people. That’s why at Labour’s recent Conference I called for our supporters to give their transfer votes to other progressive parties and candidates.
“For the elections on 24th May, Labour has put forward three excellent European candidates: Alex White in Dublin, Sheila Nunan in South and Dominic Hannigan in Midlands North-West.
“A vote for Alex, Sheila and Dominic is a vote for a progressive voice in Europe that Ireland needs now more than ever.
“We are also running over 100 candidates in the local elections, with a fantastic mix of experienced Councillors and dozens of first-time candidates. I hope to see as many of them elected as possible, and I want to both thank our local branches and constituency organisations, and urge them to do everything in their power to get Labour candidates elected to serve, all over the country.
“The left in Irish politics has been divided for too long. To bring about real change we need to ensure that progressive voices win out over the conservative policies espoused by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. To that end, I call on Labour supporters in the local and European elections to give their lower preferences to other progressive parties and candidates, including the Green Party and the Social Democrats.
“Getting progressive candidates elected at local and European level matters enormously if we are serious about implementing real policy change. Local Councils are central to resolving the housing crisis, and the European Union needs to be the global leader on climate change.
“In our policies, Labour sets out a real solution to the housing crisis, stronger climate action, a fair start for every child, and measures to strengthen democracy at local and European level, not least against the threat of populism and far-right nationalism, which is a risk in Ireland as well as across Europe.
“We have hundreds of policies that we want to see implemented at local and European level, and by the next national government. Our priority issues clearly set out Labour’s price for supporting any future national Government.
“We have no confidence in the current Fine Gael Government, and no confidence that more of the same at local and European level will deliver the future that our people need, in terms of affordable housing, better healthcare and real action on climate.
“Labour’s message for the next generation is that if they voted for women’s rights and marriage equality, why not vote for worker’s rights and economic equality? If they want a party that will always do its best, even when policy choices are hard, they should vote Labour for a resolution of the housing crisis and policies to combat climate change. Labour will always try to achieve the best for people’s rights and their standard of living.”
ENDS
Brendan Howlin’s full remarks are below:
Speaking to the meeting of the Labour Party Central Council, which will approve Labour’s policies for the local and European elections, leader of the party, Brendan Howlin TD reiterated his call for progressive-minded voters to vote for all progressive candidates, and not to be fooled by the communications strategies of conservatives and populists.
Deputy Howlin’s remarks were: “It’s been an interesting week in politics.
“Serious events are unfolding in London in relation to chaotic last ditch efforts to save the UK from a disastrous no deal exit from Europe, with damaging consequences for Ireland in all likely scenarios. Meanwhile, an all-party Oireachtas Committee has published an ambitious and frankly challenging report on what Ireland needs to do to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions from 60 million tonnes per year at present down to 33 million tonnes per year by 2030.
“At the same time as this is happening, our Taoiseach seems focused on celebrity, with his appearance on Dancing with the Stars and Operation Transformation, and his letters to Kylie Minogue.
“There are a growing number of similarities to the hubris of the Celtic Tiger era in his Government’s reckless promises to cut taxes for the better off, overspending on capital projects and an unwillingness to take hard decisions.
“Leo Varadkar also gave very evasive answers in response to my question on the challenge of climate change. According to him, the Government will be engaged in a lot of other policies too. Does he not understand that climate change is an existential threat to our way of life, and that climate action has to be part of every government policy, and an all-of-government approach from this time onwards?
“Brexit is the only thing that makes the Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil partnership seem like a good idea for the country. Labour has supported the Government on Brexit, because of the profound risks to Ireland in terms of jobs and the threat to the freedom of people on both sides of the border. Ironically Brexit has been their saviour, as any government looks passable compared to the farce playing out across the water.
“But Fine Gael won’t build houses for our young people and Fine Gael won’t fix our health service. And I’m seriously concerned that Fine Gael is not prepared to take the necessary, State-led action to stabilise our economy and to preserve jobs in the event of a no deal Brexit.
“Besides surviving Brexit, and mostly in PR terms, what is Fine Gael’s vision for the future? They have only come lately to agree with social policies that others have campaigned for over decades, like women’s reproductive rights and marriage equality.
“Fine Gael have no vision for Ireland in a post-Brexit future, and offer no leadership to a future where reliance on fossil fuels has to end.Likewise, Fine Gael has no strategy to address housing affordability and the crisis of homelessness, and they have no real desire to implement the all-party agreement on the future shape of the health service. If Fine Gael were willing to ignore one major all-party report, on health, what are the bets that they are equally willing to ignore last week’s landmark report on climate action?
“The Taoiseach’s primary policy ambition on coming to office has been to transform Government communications. In doing that, he has endangered the independence of the civil service and blurred the line between civil servants promoting the Government and promoting Fine Gael.
“At the next general election, the same party, Fine Gael, will be seeking a mandate for 15 continuous years in power. But the reality is that Fine Gael are already out of ideas and the country can’t afford five more years of ‘new politics’.
“It will fall to Labour and other progressive, constructive parties to point towards a better future for our people. That’s why at Labour’s recent Conference I called for our supporters to give their transfer votes to other progressive parties and candidates.
“For the elections on 24th May, Labour has put forward three excellent European candidates: Alex White in Dublin, Sheila Nunan in South and Dominic Hannigan in Midlands North-West.
“A vote for Alex, Sheila and Dominic is a vote for a progressive voice in Europe that Ireland needs now more than ever.
“We are also running over 100 candidates in the local elections, with a fantastic mix of experienced Councillors and dozens of first-time candidates. I hope to see as many of them elected as possible, and I want to both thank our local branches and constituency organisations, and urge them to do everything in their power to get Labour candidates elected to serve, all over the country.
“The left in Irish politics has been divided for too long. To bring about real change we need to ensure that progressive voices win out over the conservative policies espoused by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. To that end, I call on Labour supporters in the local and European elections to give their lower preferences to other progressive parties and candidates, including the Green Party and the Social Democrats.
“Getting progressive candidates elected at local and European level matters enormously if we are serious about implementing real policy change. Local Councils are central to resolving the housing crisis, and the European Union needs to be the global leader on climate change.
“In our policies, Labour sets out a real solution to the housing crisis, stronger climate action, a fair start for every child, and measures to strengthen democracy at local and European level, not least against the threat of populism and far-right nationalism, which is a risk in Ireland as well as across Europe.
“We have hundreds of policies that we want to see implemented at local and European level, and by the next national government. Our priority issues clearly set out Labour’s price for supporting any future national Government.
“We have no confidence in the current Fine Gael Government, and no confidence that more of the same at local and European level will deliver the future that our people need, in terms of affordable housing, better healthcare and real action on climate.
“Labour’s message for the next generation is that if they voted for women’s rights and marriage equality, why not vote for worker’s rights and economic equality? If they want a party that will always do its best, even when policy choices are hard, they should vote Labour for a resolution of the housing crisis and policies to combat climate change. Labour will always try to achieve the best for people’s rights and their standard of living.”