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WITH JUST 25 days to go until the election of the new Labour leader, the campaign begins in earnest tonight with the first of five debates.
Tonight’s hustings will take place in the Radisson Blu hotel at Dublin Airport, with Alex White and Joan Burton set to go head to head.
The meeting will see the two candidates to fill Eamon Gilmore’s position as the party leader engage in a questions and answers session with ordinary Labour members.
There will also be a debate among the four candidates for the Deputy Leadership – Ciara Conway, Sean Sherlock, Alan Kelly and Michael McCarthy.
The meeting will be chaired by the party chairperson Loraine Mulligan.
After tonight, the party will bring the roadshow to Galway, Cork, Portlaoise and Dublin South.
The party’s members will vote on the leadership positions from today, with ballots due to be returned by 4 July.
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So, its jobsbridge joan vs medical card alex, squaring up for leadership of a dying party whos coffin lid they played a huge part in nailing shut.
Is the warm up bout two bald men fighting over a comb?
They should put Ruri Quinn back up.
”I’m a bigger conservative”
”NO IM A BIGGER CONSERVATIVE”
”NO I AM I broke the free fees promise now all you did was cut their dole after they leave college my decision caused them to be WAY more out of pocket you cut only 88 euro I took a few grand off them! ”
(Presenter) ”Erm guys…didn’t you have a vote as a party a few years before the last election and vote to call yourselves democratic socialists?”
(grasshopper sounds)…
Those of you red thumbing am I wrong somewhere? Care to point out something even MILDLY progressive labour has accomplished in office? I mean ANYTHING?
Hope they other knock each other out, fecking unless triple crossing ba**ard* ,
And its being chaired by Shouty Shouty Higgans
“The meeting will be chaired by the party chairperson Loraine Mulligan.”
She who got 5% in Dublin West!
Now what party would you most associate with coffin lids?
The Nazis probably
Depends if yoiu’re referring to the Civil War.. in which case either FG or FF would be accurate Pickart you smartarse.
Going by the polls and the expected results for them at next election, Labour are getting far too much media press.
Why does such a small minority party get so much coverage? Come on, they barely represent themselves let alone the Irish people.
Distraction plain and simple.
Agree.
Because they are part of the current government, and there this potentially can have an effect on all of us.
I would have thought that was blindingly obvious.
Much ado about nothing. Moving the deck chairs on Titanic again! Labour is ” going for a Burton” , and well deserved too.
I don’t see why it’s well deserved – she stood squarely behind Mr Gilmore as he helped shaft everyone. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Any leader who doesn’t immediately pull out of government is just more of the same old guff
Google the term ” going for a Burton ” and you’ll find it means the opposite of what you think It is!
I don’t want them to pull out of government.
I’m in NO MOOD for another 3 months of hearing bs promises that will inevitably be broken,
I want them to fulfill their mandate, go back to cabinet and make room in the budget for the things they promised to prioritize in 2011, we can have all the elections in the world they only matter if at the end of the day they do what they were gonna say.
Someone should play this at the debate
Labour leader supports mullingar’s Columb Barracks: http://youtu.be/YA6nhGFHzls
To the people voting no, please think about this seriously.
Try to think PAST your short term satisfaction at seeing the Dail dissolved and Gilmore etc booted out 2011 FF style. Someone has to govern after that, that is a reality.
Now you all (despite me and others desperately trying to twll you it would murder any chance of growth, stimulus or real recovery) voted for the fiscal treaty so that means we are legally committed to taking another 2b out of the budget, and whoever gets into office is required to do that somehow.
Contrary to what SF are saying we don’t actually have that many wealthy elites in Ireland and their wealth is quite mobile, the only serious way to capture that would be through EU wide tax harmonization which is a while away yet. We could get some scope for a third rate over 150 k but that will just reduce what we have to cut not eliminate it.
Your choices in the election will turn out to one of these combinations:
FF-SF-LAB
SF-FF-LAB
FG-IND
FG-FF
FF-FG
Now, FF and FG have a history of lying their arses off to get into office. So do Labour. So even if SF tries to keep their word they will be in with people who, historically, have not.
So the reason I don’t want to pull the plug now is because I want them to LEARN something from this , to learn that you can’t get away with breaking your policy promises and you will be forced in the midterms to come back to them. If Labour goes back and reverses it’s fees and water charges decisions that precedent that you have to stick by your promises will be set.
If however, they just pull out and collapse the govt the Irish political establishments only lesson will be ”we overpromised” or ”the people are too stupid to be told the truth”
So they’ll either become better liars next time, or they’ll promise so little that there won’t be much of a distinction between any of them to push you enough to care who you vote for, and many more will stay home
Is that all you have to say? Finished yet?
Snore Snore Snore..
If weren’t still paying for bailing out bill gates et all wed be in surplus right now. Jus sayin
I would have more respect for two dogs fighting over a bone than these two champagne socialists.
Labour are finished, even when they are RTES favorite party they are done for! No matter who they elect they will still break promises! we need a total reform of the system and honestly new parties!
Why aren’t Sinn Fein being covered? The most supported party in the 32 counties. Typical of the elite middle class media.
Labour are currently the junior coalition party in Government and are without a leader so I do think that the coverage is justifiable whether you want to read about it or not.
If Gerry Adams retired in the morning SF would have tonnes of press so please stop sulking about this.
A chara. Please stop these politically motivated attacks on Sinn Fein and Gerry Adams (Ireland’s Mandela).
A chara. did you seriously just respond to a politically motivated response of a politically motivated comment with a request to not have politically motivated attacks?
I honest to god have to question if the silent majority of Irish people are seeing this? Its non sense! Constant non sense!
I mean, Im still wondering if “Irelands Mandela” is a joke or what? Who do you think he is trying to free, do you not realise that he lives in an everyday lie by not admitting his past, regardless of the bad or good he does?
The most supported, minority opposition member of the 26 counties, in a single pole during a highly emotive scandal in the state. Time to stop with the non sense, its why we have a jaded, politically apathetic populous in the country. Please stop.
Two of the most uninspiring people! Labour are finished.
They know labour is finished. This is about 2 yrs ministerial pensions ie not getting reshuffled etc.
Whoever becomes Labour leader should have just about enough time to really appreciate the magnitude of the electoral rope that Labour will swing from during or before 2016.
What a non-story. I like the journal but if this blow-by-blow reportage of the leadership race for a half-dead party continues I’ll scream and/or get my news elsewhere.
It pains me to see the Labour, Burton, White etc in a headline, not just because the party is crap, but because its so irrelevant and I’ve seen dead cods with more politics, personality and charisma than anyone involved in these stories I keep having to scroll past.
:’-( I actually just started weeping.
Waste of time, kenny has already chosen the leader and given them their “to do” list.
Why does it take so long to vote in a new Labour leader
Surely every body in the party knows the two that are running
So just have the vote and stop filling the media with this shit
There is going to be no major change no matter who is leader
so why drag it out
Will it be streamed online?
Why would you even joke Cian??
The Labour Party – the water charges party
God, another 25 days of this crap.
I hope this isn’t being broadcast on publicly funded television.
Rather watch paint dry… Soon to be irrelevant party !
It’s called a roadshow and that’s what it is. A roadshow farce. Both Burton and White are only concerned with the revival go an almost dead Labour Party which would not recognise social democratic principles if bitten in the nose by them.
Now the Labour Party is trying to attract public interest by an irrelevant, unimportant and sideshow fake leadership contest.
There is not even a pretence of defining real policies, working on fairer policies, diluting the adverse impact of austerity measures on the most vulnerable or even how Labour might try to deliver on some of its election promises.
What silly nonsense. It’s a fake battle to see which will be undertaker of a once decent and principled party.
Now, only big pensions beckon for all concerned and that was the name of the game all along.
Pension before principle.
“With just 25 days to go”
I don’t think the word ‘just’ represents any real excitement regarding an election of apples vs. oranges, or to quote the more uncouth South Park term ‘Giant Douche vs. Turd Sandwich’., in a party for which the electorate has already shown their disdain.
They are going to roadshow their campaign in the 3 places that the “IRISH CATHOLIC HOLOCAUST” also happened. How insensitive is that? When politicians of today are responsible for doing nothing about reporting this atrocity to the Gardai. It could also be possible the politicians direct relatives were in power when all this horror happened.
Burton will win!
Labour has a very bad reputation in Ireland today!
It has broken all it’s pre-election promises!
It is clearly an anti-faith Party and does not represent the electorate of Ireland!
Sad reflection on its past Leader!
Burton if she wishes Labour to succeed will need to change course!
“It is clearly an anti-faith Party”
Quick question dermot….
What has damaged the catholic faith the most in this country of late.
1. The Labour Party
2. 800 babies dumped in a septic tank, revelations of endemic rape and buggery of children by Catholic priests as covered up by Rome etc….
Really like Joan Burtons view on religion in the education system and her use of “devout atheist”,she has the right mind set for Ireland.
It really doesn’t matter who leads the labour party. They are history.
The main thing is: we need to break the mainstream parties- Like really destroy them.
Watched part of the live steam. Labour doing some naval gazing will not save their asses. Burton and White are as dynamic as a boring chess game. Stalemate
Like trying to resuscitate a corpse. Labour dead and buried.
Do we really care?? Honestly there are more important issues going on in the country without these clowns making promises that they can’t keep…
Same old stuff. Why do we have to wait till july 4th. So drawn out. Its a waste of time
A whole month of debates to decide who is vice captain of the titanic.
Where are my comments
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