Democratic Left and the Fall of Labour

Labours downward spiral could lay in its embracement of freemarket economics in the 1980's via their Democratic left members. Proinsias De Rossa thought the Workers Parties marxist views hampered its views electorally and saw neo liberal economics as their saving grace . Sean Garland aside, the cabal of ex lefties turned into a new group , the Democratic Left. This consisted of six TDs including Eamonn Gilmore and Pat Rabbitte. At their founding conference they were

democratic socialist party. We believe that the idea of socialism coupled with the practice of democracy provides the basis for the radical transformation of Irish society. We aim to be a feminist party. An environmental party. A party of the unemployed and low-paid. A champion of personal freedom. A friend and ally of the third world. An integral part of the European Left

Soon after 1997 the Democratic left merged with Labour and this inevitably laid the path to the downfall. Liz Mc Manus and Pat Rabbitte became deputy leader and leader respectively and then later on Eamonn Gilmore. Gilmore at this point liked to paint himself as a man of the people, a person of the working classes and anti bourgoise.

Pic from Irish Election Lit!

In a manifesto published in 1992, there are hints of a lean towards neo liberal reforms in places like energy .
http://michaelpidgeon.com/manifestos...0GE%201992.pdf

An Energy Tax, geared to encouraging conservation
and creating extra jobs, could also belp raise additional monies
while achieving desirable social and environmental objectives.

Other things though are more noticeable on terms of housing . Pyrite remedial works and houses built to substandard levels still pop up from time to time. Back in 1992 DL was proposing a redress scheme for those whose buildngs were found to be in a state of disrepair because of substandard works.

Full defects protection legislation is needed for
both owner-occupiers and tenant purcbasers against longer-term
design and construction defects on bebalf of the developer and
local authority. There must be legislation to ensure that bouse
and flat construction is of the bighest standard aod that it
complies with international standards with regard to materials
and safety

The rest of the document reads like a normal socially liberal document one would expect. Increasing corporation tax and better representation for women and fighting the then decriminalisaton of homosexuality which was to eventually come about. When did the DL members in Labour eventually become fully neo liberalists?

While in opposition they were quick to snap at the heals of the government on its policies. Liz Mc Manus has written at length on her blog about the problems in our health system (she has since retired) and this document is a far cry from the current policies of the governemnt where those very same DL members are invovled in cuts to those in the working class. I cant put my finger on it. Is it Labour are now selling their arse to FG for a few scraps from the table of political power and go along with whatever ruse that Hoga,Shatter or Reilly pull out of their arse? There was a pamphlet written around the time of the WP/SL split that predicted the downfall of the Labour party when they 'absorbed' DL .

I apologise if post is slightly disjointed but its an issue worth discussing,chartering the downfall of Labour needs to look at when the DL Quislings sold themselves out....

Cause I can’t change, I can’t change the world alone

Where is the Israeli left?

Labour are like Labour in Ireland, suppose to represent the working class but serve the interests of the capitalist elite. Traditionally the party of the left they are now more to the centre than the left where they were. A difference may have been made if Yitzhak Rabin had survived and not been assisinated. They did support the Oslo accords and brought Israel into line with an expansion of welfare programmes in the sixties/seventies. They failed in the 2000s as members heavily criticised them for heavy support of businesses. The rest of the Israeli left is a rag tag group. The rest of the Israeli left...



Peace Now supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and was critical of government's policy in withdrawing from Lebanon after the 1982-6 war and the subsequent withdrawal from South Lebanon.
Geneva Initiative and The People's Voice (HaMifkad HaLeumi), two peace initiatives led by prominent Israeli and Palestinian public figures that surfaced in 2004. These initiatives were based on unofficial bilateral understandings between the two sides, and offer models for a permanent agreement.
HaHistadrut ("The Union"; short for "the General Union of the Workers in Israel"), an umbrella organization for many labor unions in Israel. In the past, was identified with the different forms of the Israel Labor party; nowadays, the chairman of the Histadrut is Offer Eyni. The former chairman Amir Peretz became head of the socialist One Nation party, which eventually merged into Labor in 2004, which Peretz led from November 2005 to June 2007.
Several radical left-wing organizations calling soldiers to refuse service in the West Bank and Gaza; the best known are Ometz LeSarev ("Courage to Refuse") and Yesh Gvul (There's a limit/border).
Ma'avak Sotzialisti (Socialist Struggle) campaigns against privatisation and the worsening conditions faced by workers and young people in Israel.


What happened to them?

Has the Labour Party forgotten its roots?

A long term Labour supporter in conversation last night was discussing what he felt was wrong with Labour. Labour was set up and has its roots in the working class and trade unions within Ireland but has now been taken over by the D4 intelligensia (sic) and other factions and its original roots have been sidelined. James Larkin and Co originally set up Labour as a part of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions but now nearly a hundred years later Labour seems vastly different from what is was originally set up for. We are seeing attacks on the working class in terms of cuts to social welfare and cuts to other benefits from the Minister for Misery, Joan Burton and then we have the rest of the Labour brigade who rightly are fighting for civil rights for the gay community (of which I fight for aswell) but they seem to have completely forgotten that there is other areas where they are to meant to be fighting. There is household charges, wage cuts, job losses, USC , income tax being potentially raised and other numerous issues and Labour has stood idly by while all these have been brought in. Social issues have taken precedence , Im behind them in their support for gay marriage and abortion but alone is not enough to fight for the rights of the working class whom they have abandoned. In the next election, if they get savaged they have no one to blame but themselves. Gilmore and Co better buck up and fight for working class rights. The issues they are fighting for are across class but they need to remember there is other issues too.