Statement from Clare Daly on her resignation from Socialist Party September 1, 2012
Posted by irishelectionliterature in Irish Politics, The Left.trackback
Following the Statement by the Socialist Party, We deemed it appropriate that Clare Dalys statement deserved a new Post of its own.
Statement from Clare Daly
Clare Daly TD today confirmed her resignation from the Socialist Party as of Friday 31st August.
“I can confirm that yesterday I resigned from the Socialist Party and redesignate myself as a United Left Alliance (ULA) TD. I believe it is time to prioritise the building of the ULA. The success of the Household Tax Campaign and the prospect of an intensification of vicious attacks on working people in the next budget makes the building of an alternative political force, that can present a real challenge to the establishment parties, an urgent priority”
Unfortunately the potential of the ULA has not been fully realised and it is now time that the component organisations prioritised the building of the ULA.
I note with some regret the inaccurate content of the Socialist Party statement issued today. I have no intention of engaging in a public war of words with the Socialist Party leadership. I am proud of my record as a Socialist Party activist and public representative, as a shop steward representing Aer Lingus workers and a campaigner with people across Dublin North and beyond.
I will continue with the same intensity and passion to represent and fight on behalf of working people inside and out of the Dail. I will be judged on my record over twenty five years and my future record.
I have the highest of regard for the members of the Socialist Party especially those past and present who worked tirelessly with me on numerous campaigns over the last 25 years. I hope to maintain good working relations with Socialist Party members and look forward to working together as ULA members.
I will be working closely with those who have made a priority of building the ULA and offer my support and assistance to branches and members in developing the ULA nationally. I hope to see a large number of ULA candidates running in the local elections.
I will also continue to support all those fighting austerity. A real movement of people power needs to be built to stop the wave of attacks on ordinary working people.”
Her remaining in the ULA is interesting, and potentially important. It may soften any impacts from her departure from the SP.
Good news.
Is she going to have a meeting of constituency workers to explain her stand? Surely the seat belongs at least in part to them.
Reblogged this on revolutionaryprogramme.
Interesting question now is whether she has any supporters within the SP who are going to follow her lead. This could be a huge shot in the arm for the non-aligned in the ULA and the prospects for getting some movement towards a new workers’ party.
But what’s her stance on wallace? he failed to pay his at least one of his employees (who had to take him to court), failed to pay his taxes and isn’t a socialist by any stretch of the imagination. Should the ULA welcome Clare without her first stating that she has no time for Wallace or his politics.
Well it appears at least two in Brian Greene and his brother have also resigned. No idea if others went too. Presume Balbriggan Town Councillor Terry Kelleher is staying
As far as I’m aware there have been three resignations from the Socialist Party, Clare and the Greene brothers. Brian says that they didn’t leave with Clare but for their own reasons.
As a member of the non aligned ULA I like what she is saying about building the thing. High time that got started.
Mick Wallace’s missis to lead the ULA – the path to socialism is assured.
Alarming that an independent, active, intelligent woman is so quickly defined as ‘Mick Wallace’s missus’. What are you implying? That a woman in a relationship can’t think and act for herself?
Jean, that would unfortunately seem to be the implication – part of the casual sexism that infects the Irish left. I can’t say I know Clare well but I have had some conversations with her in the context of ULA and CAHWT events we have both been at. I have absolutely no doubt that Clare is her own person and is able to act in the world very effectively. I thought she was particularly good when she spoke in Cork with Mary Favier on abortion rights.
Yes, it’s a sexist remark. Clare Daly is the last person on earth I would describe as being incapable of making up her own mind.
Two things. Her statement was a lot more professional and dignified than the SP. Second, very happy about her comments on the ULA etc Be great to have someone of her stature in the non-aligned section! Working with the SP will prove tricky, but tbh, the ULA has been going nowhere, it needs action towards a unified party IMO.
http://Www.garrettmullan.com blog on this
Interview on sixone
I’m glad that Clare is going to continue as a ULA activist and disappointed that she resigned from the Socialist Party. The notion that she fell out with the Socialist Party over the ULA is, unfortunately, not true though. And because she isn’t leaving over some political argument of that sort, there won’t be any group of Socialist Party members going with her, bar perhaps a couple out of personal loyalty.
I’ve no intention of putting the boot into Clare. She’s a fine activist who has done trojan work for the cause of socialism in Ireland over many years, as a shop steward, as a councillor, as an anti-bin tax activist and as a TD. She’s one of the most articulate people in the Dail, and hopefully she will continue to be so.
However, the Socialist Party statement was necessary. To those who are complaining that it was “unprofessional” to be truthful about this sort of parting of the ways, I can only respond that the Socialist Party has a duty to be honest with its supporters, many of whom are likely to be shocked at Clare’s resignation. There would be no point in trying to hide the reality of the situation behind diplomatic lies anyway, as the truth would inevitably seep out, probably through relentless innuendo in the media which would in the end be more damaging. Better to be clear.
The Socialist Party will continue its work for the cause of socialism in Ireland, treating Clare as an ally in the ULA.
I think both sides accepted the inevitability of this, and both sides dealt with it as best it could be. Unusual.
The Socialist Party will continue its work for the cause of socialism in Ireland, treating Clare as an ally in the ULA.
Would a more restrained statement (regardless of how deserved the criticism may have been) not have made for an easier working relationship within the ULA in the future?
No, not really. There won’t be some prolonged slanging match coming out of this.
Clare fell out with the Socialist Party, over something I still find astonishingly stupid. She resigned. The Socialist Party has made its understanding of what happened clear to its supporters and the public. Clare has made her response. As far as we are concerned that’s the dispute over and now it’s back to work.
Fair enough
Dispute over? So why the SP press conference on Sunday after SP statement?
I think part of the problem is the lack of generosity towards Clare in the SP statement. Now I know that the SP says that they have to be as honest and straight forward with their members and supporters about the resignation but would it have been too much to have put in a long paragraph thanking her for more than a quarter of a century of work for the party. I don’t know how bad relations have gotten between her and other leading members but from the outside Clare’s statement comes across as more measured and dignified than the statement from the SP.
I doubt if there’s anyone in the Socialist Party with any particular desire to be generous to Clare at the moment. The statement is as accurate and clear a representation of the Socialist Party’s understanding of the situation as possible. And that’s exactly what it should be.
she should really make a statement re. wallace. she failed to condemn him – this has to be sorted out – ULA members deserve this.
[...] via CLR Clare Daly TD today confirmed her resignation from the Socialist Party as of Friday 31st August. [...]
Clare Daly is a great TD and I hope she continues to flourish in the ULA.
However, the very idea that Mick Wallace should be encouraging anyone to not pay a tax is so naive I would actually credit it as a government plot. The SP’s stance on Wallace is correct. The only issue is whether this will linger or not – the last thing an infant grouping like the ULA needs is infighting. In this respect, a more diplomatic press release from the SP would have been wiser.
That’s an analysis I would very largely agree with.
a few people have welcomed this as being maybe a good thing for the ULA but I find it hard to see how. The ula was facing the difficulty of not coalescing, Now one of its bigger blocks has had a division, which will inevitably create some tension, and yet somehow its going to be a boost. If Claire argues for a stronger ULA then to do so is to push against the grain of the ULA’s overall direction so far – and that from the perspective of being regarded as the lady who walked for wallace.
I think her staying in the ULA is best of a bad lot. Going so far as to say maybe its a good thing for the ULA’s development seems a stretch,
@que – a few people are clutching at straws.
http://Www.garrettmullan.com i have blogged on this. i worked closely with clare fir years
Thanks for that Garret, its a very good informative piece.
+1
+1
whats the comment John?
I’m not well enough informed to judge on the SP’s statement about Claire’s dealings with Mick Wallace but I have considerable sympathy with her when she says:
“I will be working closely with those who have made a priority of building the ULA and offer my support and assistance to branches and members in developing the ULA nationally. I hope to see a large number of ULA candidates running in the local elections.”
The contrast between SYRIZA, and the Dutch Socialist Party (no relation) and the ULA is sharp. The The ULA functions as an electoral flag of convenience in which the franchise is shared between two organisations which seem to view it principally as a way of building themselves. If it is to have a weight in the class struggle comparable to SYRIZA it has to regularise itself as a real party which is dominated by working class militants who feel they have a real say over its strategic direction. People won’t get active in it in big numbers if they know that every decision is already made.
http://socialistresistance.org/3863/syriza-reality-is-forcing-us-to-forget-the-old-ways-of-working
Liam, firstly, it would probably be better to look into becoming “well enough informed”. Secondly, SYRIZA is itself a federal coalition of quite distinct parties and has enjoyed its success without “regularising itself as a real party”. It is now looking into turning itself into a “real party” but, the notion that this had to happen before it could enjoy success is simply historically wrong.
As someone who’s actually been to Athens I can tell you the people who fulminate about the component parts of the ULA continuing to have a public existence complimentary to membership would mostly likely drop dead with indignation if they were to go to Greece.
You literally cannot walk down the street without seeing posters advertising some public event (often on the same event, I know, shocking!) from DEA, Kokkino, KEDA, KOE, AKOA, DIKKI etc.
Clare Daly has said on RTE Radio 1′s ‘This Week’ that she supports the Socialist Party position that Mick Wallace should pay his tax, that she was the one who resigned, that her resignation “has nothing got to do with Mick Wallace”, that that is “a complete lie” and that her reason for resignation is clear, that she has been “disappointed with the lack of development of the ULA” since the election. She wants to prioritise that now. Her interest is in “the left organising as a serious alternative”; these are new times and a new response is needed, “a broad, serious political alternative”.
it seems to me that she hasn’t give the reason for her resignation at all. She could presumably prioritise the development of the ULA from within the SP and she must surely have known that leaving the SP would poison her relationship with them which would make the task of building the ULA even more difficult since it is already showing signs of inertia and division. At the moment there has to be a question mark as to whether she can remain in the ULA, let alone help to build it and there are certainly questions over her future role in the anti Household Tax campaign too.
“Clare Daly has said on RTE Radio 1′s ‘This Week’ that she supports the Socialist Party position that Mick Wallace should pay his tax”
To be fair, there’s no one who disagrees with that position. Including, incidentally, Mick Wallace.
@ smiffy
“To be fair, there’s no one who disagrees with that position. Including, incidentally, Mick Wallace.”
What’s the difficulty then with Mick Wallace?
The fact that he hasn’t paid the tax. And as far as can be told isn’t going to. Leaving aside the issue of him being a major property developer in the first place.
But he would if he could. Hasn’t he said that?
Him being a property developer didn’t stop the SWP involving him briefly at the beginning of ‘Enough!’ Or the ULA TDs joining him for anti household protests before the scandal broke: http://www.joe.ie/news-politics/current-affairs/tds-protest-against-the-household-charge-0021016-1
I think most nonaligned ULA members, most of those on the nonaligned mailing group anyway, take a strong position that MW should pay his taxes, stay away from CAHWT and resign as a TD. But they would have a more accommodating view, I think, without them necessarily approving, of Clare Daly’s own positions on these and not regard them as placing her outside the pale of the ULA. If Clare hadn’t left the Socialist Party she might have been accommodated there too. Some Socialist Party members have mentioned that they are glad she is staying in the ULA.
I think the nonaligned view is also for a cooling of the exchanges and a rest for media interventions.
Naturally, the nonaligned welcome her declaration of commitment to develop the ULA, and tend to believe – though she certainly kept it implicit – her disappointment with the course of the ULA to date.
D_D,
I agree with you as against people who are suggesting that Clare’s stance on Wallace should result in the ULA not wanting anything to do with her. Clare is an incredibly hard working and dedicated activist, and is also a very articulate proponent of socialist ideas. There are people in the ULA who I disagree with about much more substantive issues than him.
However, if anyone really believes that Clare resigned from the SP over some long standing view that the ULA needed to be given more priority, then you should let them know that I have a prime investment opportunity available in some development land outside Portlaoise. Planning permission is already sorted.
http://www.rte.ie/news/player.html#programme=This%20Week
At 35:40
Does Clare Daly intend to hold a meeting of constituency workers to explain her stance? It seems to me that they should have been consulted.
The Socialist Party has already arranged to hold two meetings in Dublin North this week – one in Swords and the other in Balbriggan. I would be surprised if Clare Daly didn’t do something similar.
Do you stand by the SP position that the split is over Mick Wallace as compared to Clare describing that as a “complete lie” and the split is actually primarily about a difference over the priority to give building the ULA?
I absolutely 100% stand by the initial statement issued yesterday by the Socialist Party National Committee.
Shock horror ^
How would you absolutely but not 100% do that?
The serious problem now is that either the Socialist Party are lying through their teeth or Claire Daly is. There’s no way around that. They say they kicked her out because of the Wallace connection, she says she resigned out of love for the ULA.So either a left-wing party or a left-wing TD is being completely dishonest with the electorate. That’s what it boils down to. One party is completely blameless in the matter, the other has been completely mendacious and untrustworthy. I presume the truth of the matter will emerge.
I suspect the repercussions from this will do damage to Claire Daly, the SP and the ULA. What a terrible mess. I’d have to say I never saw Claire Daly as Parnell and Mick Wallace as Kitty O’Shea. Though maybe they’re not and she’s the one who’s being honest. I presume most of us remain in the dark on this question.
I am sure these matters will be addressed at the press conference this afternoon.
“One party is completely blameless in the matter, the other has been completely mendacious and untrustworthy. I presume the truth of the matter will emerge.”
I’d be surprised if it’s quite as black and white as that.
One point worth making is that regardless of the precise nature of the relationship between Daly and Wallace, the SP statement is correct in stating that she has been giving him public political support, since the revelations about his tax affairs emerged earlier this year. I’d wonder if the SP position on the Wallace issue (yes, he should pay his tax, no he shouldn’t resign his seat) would have been quite as weak – and I think it was weak – if it wasn’t for Daly’s position within the party. I’d like to think so.
However, if the connection to Wallace was damaging to the SP, and it was, surely it would equally be damaging to the ULA, if Daly maintains her position in relation to him. Something the ULA might do well to consider.
Eamonn, the Socialist Party doesn’t say that it kicked Clare Daly out over Wallace, nor would it do so, despite the ongoing difficulties which her public political association with him caused.
Let’s be clear about this – as late as last Wednesday the Socialist Party National Executive were attempting to arrange discussions with Clare Daly over the issues of contention between Clare and the National Committee. The Socialist Party did not ‘kick her out’ and would have continued discussions in an effort to arrive at a solution acceptable to both Clare and the National Committee. Clare Daly is the one who decided to bring the process of discussion to an end. Why? only she could answer that – however her support for allowing Wallace to continue as a local spokesperson for the CAHWT in Wexford (in contravention of previous decisions of the CAHWT) at the CAHWT Steering Committee meeting yesterday may have had something to do with it.
Who is on the National Committee? Is there a list available somewhere?
The Registrar of political parties has a copy.
Apologies for the use of the phrase ‘kick her out’ and for stating that the Socialist Party expelled Clare Daly. A hasty misreading on my part.
I’ve actually come to the conclusion that it’s probable the SP is more sinned against than sinning in this matter and could have done very little to avoid what happened.
But the fact does remain that the SP say the problem was caused by Clare Daly’s sympathy for Mick Wallace and that she says it’s because she thinks enough isn’t being done to build the ULA. So someone is being dishonest here.
I’ve the height of respect for Clare Daly, she’s a wonderfully articulate speaker and showed lots of political courage and drive in putting the abortion question back on the political agenda, exposing the cowardice of the main parties and very probably forcing them into action.
But, purely from a political point of view because nothing else is anyone’s business, a millionaire developer who owes a large amount of money to workers is a very odd ally for a Socialist. Particularly when they slagged off their critics a few weeks back in exactly the same fashion that someone like Sean Quinn would have.
http://garrettmullan.wordpress.com/2012/09/02/what-should-a-socialist-attitude-be-to-mick-wallace/
Breaking: Clare Daly Resigns from Politics to Spend More Time with the ULA
Oh you are awful !
Audio of Clare Daly on This Week
http://audioboo.fm/boos/943260-clare-daly-td-rte-this-week-2-9-12
and the leaflet refered to in the interview
http://irishelectionliterature.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/leaflet-from-clare-daly-socialist-party-1997-general-election-dublin-north/
Extremely dishonest interview from Clare, really disappointing. At no point in the last year or more did Clare raise any disagreements with the Socialist Party\’s approach to the ULA – certainly not in the last few months and weeks, when a series of discussions took place with Clare over the Mick Wallace issue. Her statement was actually the first time I ever heard her speak about the ULA positively.