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United Left January 19, 2020

Posted by irishelectionliterature in Uncategorized.
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I see Solidarity are running against Paul Murphy in Dublin South West.

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1. Paul H - January 19, 2020

Also no sign of a transfer pact or dividing areas. Especially worrying as Sandra is from
Jobstown where Paul would be hoping for most of his no. 1s. Tallaght was also one of the only areas the solidarity vote held up the locals despite poor turnout. When Paul left he said he feared they’d run to split the vote so that he lost, with the hope that they’d win it back in future. And so it seems to be

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WorldbyStorm - January 19, 2020

It’s a terrible pity. And I hate to say this but people beyond the groups involved see this and draw conclusions. Sometimes that seems to be forgotten.

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irishelectionliterature - January 19, 2020

I’m really disappointed at it. It’s such a petty move.
The way things are at the minute Paul Murphy will need every vote he can get. Last night’s poll and having chatted to FF folk locally it appears they have high hopes of a second seat in Dublin South West.
Two FF, Duffy the Green will take a seat, Sean Crowd too. That would leave Zappone, Murphy and the two FG candidates fighting it out for the last seat.

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Fergal - January 19, 2020

And can we assume there won’t be any Shinner or Green votes to get Murphy over the line?

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WorldbyStorm - January 19, 2020

That’s an important question, but from reading IEL my supposition is that PM would be scrabbling at the tail end of the count for votes – where one or other or both GP and SF would potentially have taken the seats ahead of him.

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Fergal - January 19, 2020

Sorry … that should be transfers… the all important transfers ….

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irishelectionliterature - January 19, 2020

Exactly. There aren’t too many candidates that may be transfer friendly that will be in a position to give him votes.

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2. Colm B - January 19, 2020

Jesus wept!

As I said before its not just the SP, be prepared to see this repeated all over as left groups plow ahead regardless towards wipe-out. Which facilitates the “Green Wave”, coalition, anti-working class policies, more suffering for workers etc.

But who cares as long as our nearest rivals are knocked out!

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WorldbyStorm - January 19, 2020

There’s one other aspect to this. Even if the SP put Sandra Fay forward wouldn’t one expect at least a nod to some sort of unity on the poster – ie ‘Please vote PM No.2’ or some such.

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irishelectionliterature - January 19, 2020

Murphy has Vote Fay number 2 on his leaflets.

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WorldbyStorm - January 19, 2020

Interesting.

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Pasionario - January 19, 2020

Maybe that will help him at his show trial after the revolution.

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AdoPerry - January 19, 2020

PbP/Solidarity are running against PbP/Solidarity in Dublin Central. I kid you not. Two separate candidates.

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NFB - January 19, 2020

Sheer, stubborn stupidity.

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WorldbyStorm - January 19, 2020

That’s absolutely madness given the state of the left. Ah well, where’s the surprise?

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GearóidGaillimh - January 19, 2020

Same in Galway West.

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Dermot M O Connor - January 19, 2020

There’s a quota for everyone in the audience.

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Pasionario - January 20, 2020

They’ll be putting up “Boyd-Barrett for Taoiseach!” posters next.

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3. rockroots - January 19, 2020

What chance someone could put together a guide showing the left candidates with the best prospects of election in each constituency? Something that could be shared widely. It would ruffle feathers, but if the parties themselves won’t do it…

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Joe - January 19, 2020

I’m sure JRG could oblige.

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irishelectionliterature - January 19, 2020

I’ll do one before the election…. also one on the candidates from the other end of the spectrum!

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4. Jim Monaghan - January 19, 2020

Is there any hope that the membership of the SP and SWP will revolt against the little wannabe Lenins and Trotskys in the leaderships? From a possibility of overtaking the Labour party and becoming something of a national challenge to the status quo to irrevelance in 4 or so years. They should be made personally responsible for every lost deposit. I would bet that the Solidarity/PbP will will the race for the biggest number of lost deposits. In despair.

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CMK - January 20, 2020

Zero chance the membership of the SP will rebel against this rubbish. Members in the SP rebelled last year over various issues and the end results was they were either forced out or kicked out. There is no room for any deviation from what the leaders of the SP decide. Rank and file members of the SP know that and are, to be fair, largely content to live under that regime.

It is sad to see people in the SP who privately know how stupid and counter productive this is trying to boost Sandra Fay’s campaign and ignoring Paul Murphy. ‘Put a Socialist in the Dáil!’, yeah right, there is one there already for DSW and his name is Paul Murphy.

The leadership of the SP want to negate Paul Murphy and this is just one part of that overall strategy.

Interesting to note, however, that nearly all of the DSW SP members appear to working on Ruth Coppinger’s campaign and not Sandra Fay’s………..

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PMC - January 20, 2020

You would think the SP would be focusing all their energies on ensuring that they don’t lose their two TDs and become irrelevant. The documents leaked before the split talked about their only being around 100 active members. I wonder how many are left and did not join RISE or the new Irish CWI. Their vote was hit more than PBP in the locals and they have very limited presence outside of Tallaght, Dublin West and Cork. As far as I can see they are only running in 5 or 6 constituencies and a few cases against better placed left candidates e.g. John Lyons. Though PBP are also standing against John. Very petty

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CMK - January 20, 2020

Limerick City provides a good example of the degeneration of the SP: from coming within a whisker of taking a seat in 2016 with Cian Prendiville to running a candidate this time round who got 350 votes in the locals last year.

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NFB - January 20, 2020

I don’t think Prendiville, despite doing far better than expected, was really as close as that. Kieran O’Donnell got more #1 than Jan O’Sullivan but lost out, he’d be more “whisker” close in my estimation.

Why isn’t Prendiville running?

On Coppinger/Fay, fair to say that resources are being prioritized to someone in with a genuine chance, albeit in difficulties.

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WorldbyStorm - January 20, 2020

Prendiville left the SP IIRC

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CMK - January 20, 2020

Fair enough NFB, I see that there now that CP was further away than I had thought in 2016. But he was still, if I recall correctly, the AAA-PBP candidate who was closest to being elected after the six who did actually win seats.

Yes, WBS, is correct he has left the SP as well.

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PMC - January 20, 2020

Do you know why he left? Seemed to be a good bit before the split

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5. tafkaGW - January 20, 2020

Leninist splintering has gone beyond tragedy and through farce and is now just a minor soap that repeats itself endlessly. All except the actors will turn off.

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6. NFB - January 20, 2020

Only news I can find on Prendiville cites “personal reasons” for a step away from politics.

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7. irishelectionliterature - January 20, 2020

https://www.irishtimes.com/election2020/solidarity-running-in-paul-murphy-s-constituency-hard-call-to-make-boyd-barrett-1.4145416

“Commenting on the decision, Mr Boyd Barrett said he would not see it as the left wing grouping standing a candidate “against” former member Mr Murphy.

“I do think Tallaght is a very left wing constituency where there is plenty of room for left wing candidates,” Mr Boyd Barrett said on Monday.

“I don’t see that it’s going to impact significantly on particularly Paul Murphy … who I think would be favoured as the likely candidate to get in,” he said.

On whether the decision could split the radical left wing vote, Mr Boyd Barrett said he expected there would be “an extremely strong transfer from one candidate to the other” if one was eliminated.”

I’d imagine RBB would be less than thrilled if Solidarity or RISE were running against him.

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JL - January 20, 2020

As I understand it, RBB was asked about this at the Dun Laoghaire protest today by the media. I imagine he was seeking to avoid an argument with the SP or the appearance of disunity rather than actually having no issue with their decision to run against Paul

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WorldbyStorm - January 20, 2020

That rings true JL.

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WorldbyStorm - January 20, 2020

By the way, I wonder what would have happened had PM gone in under the PBP umbrella. would it have been wide enough to accommodate him?

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8. Jolly Red Giant - January 20, 2020

I am going to say this once – Solidarity are not standing AGAINST Paul Murphy. Sandra Fay was a Solidarity candidate in the 2016 general election getting more than 3,200 votes. She is a sitting councillor and would have been a candidate irrespective of whether Paul Murphy had remained a member of the SP and Solidarity or not.

It really is gobsmacking to see the stuff on here about the Socialist Party and Solidarity ‘splitting’ the vote. The people who ‘split’ were Paul Murphy and the Taffeeite who is making pronouncements above. If Paul Murphy had decided not to walk out of the Socialist Party and Solidarity then this entire discussion would be moot. If you want to point fingers about people ‘splitting’ the left then I suggest you should look at who you are pointing the fingers at.

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JL - January 20, 2020

Sandra is a good candidate and hope she does well. But there isn’t two seats available this time. Is she calling for number 2 for Murphy on her posters or literature? I haven’t seen it so far or on her Facebook but have seen Murphy include “vote 2 Sandra Fay”. Last time the SP put out detailed instructions on where to vote Murphy 1 or Fay 1 and if worked very well, with a very high transfer rate from Fay to Murphy. Would be good to see same again

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WorldbyStorm - January 21, 2020

Just like Brid Smith wasn’t standing AGAINST paul Murphy when he was MEP. And can anyone be certain SF would have been run also as a candidate in a context where let’s be frank vote share is in decline to judge by poll after poll. As to ‘splitting the vote’ and splits think we have to be a little realistic about incumbents and incumbency. And as always voters will look at these events and draw their own conclusions.

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CMK - January 21, 2020

Solidarity have cast iron 100% evidence, gathered by their own organisation, that there are NOT two seats in that constituency for the Left and that, furthermore, the one that is there is not at all secure. Go and ask them about it.

Sandra Fay would not be running even if Paul Murphy had not been forced out of Solidarity and the SP.

And, yes, she is being run ‘against’ him. The people running her campaign know she hasn’t a hope and that’s why they are trundling over the M50 to Dublin West every day to help out there.

If she can skin 1000-1500 preferences from PM and put him in difficulty then that is job done.

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Jolly Red Giant - January 21, 2020

So says another person responsible for ‘splitting the left’

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sonofstan - January 21, 2020

It doesn’t look as if the left needs any help in this regard.

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WorldbyStorm - January 21, 2020

Erm… how is that different from those splitting from the CWI IS? I mean everyone, everyone, at this dance has split from one org or another over the years.

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9. charlie cairns - January 21, 2020
10. Tomboktu - January 22, 2020

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