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WITH LABOUR NOW officially out of government and its ministers no longer holding seals of office (on an acting basis or otherwise), the issue of the leadership has become a live one.
Labour’s rules state that if the party doesn’t enter government after an election then the leadership comes up for review.
Now that this is a reality and independents have taken Labour’s place at Fine Gael’s side, Joan Burton’s future becomes a pressing question.
The Labour leader kept her seat as a TD for Dublin West meaning she’s eligible to stay on (only Labour TDs can lead the party), but the indications are that she will stand aside.
Speaking to Brendan O’Connor on RTÉ at the weekend, Burton didn’t directly say she was stepping down but sounded like someone who didn’t feel like leadership was her priority anymore.
“I’m very happy to do whatever I can to help the Labour party in its future,” she said, adding that she wants to be “very active in this new Dáil and new politics”.
The Labour parliamentary party is due to meet today and Burton said of the meeting that she doesn’t think the conversation will be specifically about her but rather “the best leadership option for the party”.
In terms of who is in the frame to replace Burton, deputy leader Alan Kelly and former junior minister Seán Sherlock are seen as the favourites, both by the bookies and party insiders alike.
Kelly has already been the most vocal Labour voice in opposition to the new government in its early days. He’s already spoken strongly on issues such as water charges, climate change and the breakup of his previous Department of Environment.
While his abrasive style had been seen as a possible liability during the election campaign, Kelly has been attempting to row back on this perception.
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What a big mistake it would be if they put Alan Kelly as leader of labour, seriously no-one even likes him & he barley made it over the line this time. Power hungry awful man!
He won’t, but you can be sure whoever gets the leadership of this lame duck party will have to suffer Kelly’s eternal envious wrath.
Labour need to get rid of the corruption and forsake the seat and get rid of Kelly. He is eating the party from the inside.
If Kelly gets the reigns that will be the end of a Labour Party in ireland.
Even the Titanic still had a captain when it was sinking
Apart from the Kelly question there’s also have that other dangerous megalomaniac Howlin, who appeared not only to enjoy the spotlight like Kelly but also bullying sections of society alongside Noonan. Looks like Labour is sunk which ever champagne socialists it chooses as leader.
@brian boru: Rein of terror?
If I join labour can I vote for party leader?
Yay!!
Bye bye Joan.
Roll on Alan Kelly, yay!!
No matter who’s in charge they betrayed what they stood for,
They’ll never get my vote again.
“Every little hurts” it still is you ‘redacted’
If Alan kelly takes over they should change the name from Labour Party to backhander party. Every little helps….
He’ll probably rename it The Alan Kelly Appreciation Party anyway. I’d say he whispers his own name during sex.
His biggest problem is he doesn’t hide the fact that he’s a c u n t.
Yea, he whispers his own name during sex with himself, that is.
elect KELLY please it what i want ..labour will fold then….
That Is a great Idea!!!!
I never thought of that one. I must try repeating Alan Kelly’s first name while having sex.
Alan……..Alan………Alan………..Alan………This would certainly get the rhythm going!!
Do you see where I’m Cumming from?????
Publicly, Kelly is the most hated TD in the Dail. Yes, please make him the leader of Labour, so we can fianlly see this irrelevent party put out of its misery.
I would imagine Enda Kenny is more unpopular,but I would agree he aint far away.
Kelly was so poisonous that they got rid of the ministerial position altogether…
As bad as they are now with Joan, if Kelly gets the position then they are finished
They’re all but finished as it is.
Good riddance, Joan’s legacy will be her treachery, lies arrogance and contempt for the working class people she was meant to protect. It will take an awful long time for Labour to recover especially if they replace one rotten apple with another in Howlin.
…and they might never recover if they choose Kelly.
It will take at least one generation for the citizenry to begin to forget Labours treachery toward the Irish working and coping classes.
unfortunately people proved they had shorter memories than that. look at fianna fail
As bad as iPhone Joan the Moan is, and I think she betrayed the Labour electorate, I think Alan Kelly would be a total disaster as a leader. He is a megalomaniac. And he should be in Fine Gael. He is a better fit for the blueshirt shower.
He’ll probably change their name to the Power Party
Averil’s cv would be first on Kelly’s desk.
The Soc Dems took the ground LAB vacated when they opted to be a right wing party five years ago. They have nowhere to go. Kelly would finish off the job of the demise of the demise of Labour…..
Labour should re-brand as Fine Gael Red and get it over with.
The Soc Dems didn’t take any ground – they made no gains whatsoever. I think Sinn Fein and the actual real left made the gains. Kelly or Howlin are both toxic beyond their local constituencies, so either way Labour is finished.
I hope alan kelly is elected new leader. Not because he’s any use but because he will complete the utter destruction of liebour.
I must say that I have a soft spot for both Joan Burton and Alan Kelly: a quicksand in Donegal!
Labour will be in the wilderness for a long time as it is, if the put Alan Kelly in charge they will be extinct…… No more than they deserve….. Five years they backed and bullied the electorate with fg and now suddenly they want nothing to do with fg…. Wouldn’t even vote for enda Kenny….. what was is Alan Kelly said last week….fg have no morals ….. But yet you didn’t mind they had no morals for 5 years as long as you had the power…….
I think Joan Burton is a good person at heart. However, her mistake and that of the Labour Party is, they sold out.
The argument is often made that a coalition takes compromise and that will take you so far but in modern politics what your core values are count for little.
We say this with Blair and New Labour.
New Labour was just another Tory Party. They scream shock horror at Corbyn but Corbyn is what labour is about. It’s the others who have changed.
“a good person at heart”….eehhhh no..
I agree Tom that Joan Burton is a good person deep down… about six foot deep down.
If the Labour party have a death wish by all means install Kelly as their “leader “
If Labour are to have any chance of recovering it has to elect Sherlock as leader.
1984, I’ll say no more!
Look lb let the people down they should all go who in there right minds would vote for them again and definitely not with
Alan Kelly in charge
Alan kelly can never be in charge after all he is on the take so there with Alan there is always someone else in charge.
Tipperary the cess pool of Irish politics for the last forty years,
Liebour are irrelevant.. Who cares ☺
Bye, Labour, it has been nice (sort of) knowing you……
Sean sherlock is the only TD that could bring them back, I’m not sure how the rest of them got through
Being a wolf in sheep’s clothing…..Labour need to change the party name first.
The most hated woman in Irish politics. Good riddance!!
Will IPhone’s pension days now become a ” lifestyle choice “….?
Hard Labour = JobBridge
Social Democrats = Labour.
Thanks to iPhone and nasty Kelly the Labour Party is FINISHED…..no loss
Let them elect Kelly or Howlin and hasten the party’s demise, hopefully then something positive will emerge out of its ashes.
They would be better staying with Joan as leader then to hand over leadership to the likes of Kelly.
The Labour Party will never rebuild itself with Kelly at the helm – the sinking ship of Labour
Shortarse Howlin will be the new Traitor party leader.
People are saying Kelly deserves a shot at the leadership given his performance in getting elected against the odds in Tipperary. If these people think that endorsement by the voters of Tipperary marks a politician out as being a cut above the rest, then I just have one word for them to chew on. Lowry.
All part big Frank Underwood Kelly’s grand plan for ultimate power. He must have some dirt on iPhone Joan Seriously, have you ever seen anything more cringeworthy than Kelly jumping around like an idiot as he scraped over the line in the g.e. having filled a few potholes in tipp.
None of them are any use to us. I will never ever vote again for Labour!! They made a mess while in office. And Joan Burton is catastrophic!! I will never again vote for a politician just because she’s a female. Biggest mistake ever!!!
Thought Maggie Thatcher was bad but Joan was worse absolutely destroyed a once noble party, would love to know what 30 pieces of silve she got off Kenny that was worth it. A former Labour voter will never vote for them again as they betrayed every Labour principle there was.
Every little hurts the epitaph of the Labour party.
On a positive note though hope the Soc Dems put up a candidate in every area as I would like to see them become a main party. Catherine Murphy is the opposite of Joan Burton a woman who cares about people and very brave to take on the cancer which is eating Ireland.
God I hope labour a smarter than to have Alan Kelly lead them.
It must have been difficult for Power Ranger Kelly to realise that it was US who held all the power.
All Megalomaniacs need reminding of this when they get out of hand…
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