Aontu deputy leader accuses Sinn Fein of ‘smoke and mirrors' tactics over voting rights bill
Aontu is calling on Sinn Fein to explain why it hasn't signed a bill in the Dail to give Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland the right to vote in the Republic's presidential election.
The party's deputy leader, Gemma Brolly, said she was 'hugely frustrated' at Sinn Fein's failure so far to respond to correspondence from Aontu leader Peadar Toibin on the issue. Sinn Fein has been contacted for comment.
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The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Backbench MPs should remain loyal to constituents, not parties
The very use of that term speaks volumes about how the party leadership may regard both its troops and any perceived dissension from the party line. This follows a year-long freeze of her Labour credentials dating from a letter Diane wrote to The Observer in early 2023. It also follows the suspension of seven other 'miscreants' who had the temerity to suggest the two-child cap should be history and had no place under a Labour Government. And, of course, the massive recent rebellion over changes to welfare eligibility. Featuring, among very many others, all of the latest MPs to lose the whip. READ MORE: 'Time to take action': What it was like at the national Palestine demo in Edinburgh At which stage, the Labour leadership earnestly assured its flock that it would listen more intently to its backbenchers and absolutely didn't regard the latter as mere 'voter fodder'. Abbott's letter said, not very controversially, that the kind of lifelong racism encountered by black and brown people, differs from the kind of prejudice suffered by Irish people, Travellers and Jewish people. 'Any fair-minded person will know what I meant,' she later said in a statement to BBC Newsnight. Indeed. Surely a textbook example of 'we ken whit she meant'. (Image: House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire) In an interview for James Naughtie's Reflections programme last Thursday, she said she had no regrets about these remarks despite having apologised for them at the time. She reiterated that face colour is an immediate red rag to racists in a way that their identity probably isn't for other minorities. Cue portions of the Labour roof falling on her head. Again. It may be that her real crime was a historical closeness to former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. At any rate, the Mother Of The House has now been unceremoniously flung oot the Labour house. You might think that a government with a large majority of seats on under 34% of votes cast in a poll where fewer than 60% of electors bothered to use their vote might display some humility. Rather than take a sledgehammer to crack people denounced as irritating nutcases. Especially since their MPs – more than half of them in parliament for the first time – are there to represent a constituency where two-thirds of electors either didn't vote for them, or simply didn't vote. The Labour Party's draconian attitude to dissenters suggests complacency and a tendency for overreaction. It also suggests they hope their hardline stance will result in fewer Labour MPs willing to take risks. Not so much the firm smack of government as political punishment beatings. From a Scottish perspective, the most instructive victim is Brian Leishman, the luckless Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth. Grangemouth, you will know, was Scotland's solitary refinery, a place the Scottish Labour leader promised to save during the election campaign. Leishman, unsurprisingly, thought he would therefore be on safe ground when he vocally supported the workforce. Alas, that, plus his stance on welfare reform, meant he would instead get his jotters. Without warning. He said, thereafter, that he hadn't been elected to make people poorer. He also argued that he'd been elected 'to be a voice for my constituents across [[Alloa]] and [[Grangemouth]]'. Not, it seems, if that voice fails to chime with the latest stance of his leader. Anas Sarwar's silence on this matter, at the time of writing, has been positively deafening. READ MORE: 55 arrested in Westminster as protests grow over Palestine Action ban The [[Alloa]] and [[Grangemouth]] MP says that the Scottish Labour leader has not been in touch since a WhatsApp message last January. You might have thought he'd pick up the phone over Grangemouth at least, if not over the latest party row which saw one of his own Scots Labour representatives publicly humiliated. However, Leishman says he still supports Sir Keir's leadership and 'I will be out campaigning to get Scottish Labour candidates elected for Holyrood next year. I'll be doing everything I possibly can to get Anas into Bute House'. Each to their own and all that. Also interesting is the role and function of MPs of all parties. They don't have a statutory one, but they do have a code of conduct based on seven principles of 'selflessness, integrity, objectivity, honesty, accountability, openness and leadership.' However, the code also acknowledges the challenges faced by MPs when the needs and views of their constituents come into conflict with those of the party whose rosette they sported on election night. Or, as the code puts it: 'As members of a political party, MPs are expected to support and promote the policies and principles of their party. However, this should not come at the expense of their duties to their constituents or the wider public interest.' So let's suppose that the chap representing the workforce at Grangemouth was doing little more than exercising his duty to his constituents and the wider public interest. Not even to mention demonstrating integrity objectivity, and accountability. The code does understand the complexity of the MP's role in a way their parties may not: 'At times a constituent's demands may conflict with party policy and your MP will have to decide where their first loyalty should lie.' And woe betide any MP if their first loyalty is not to their party, it seems. Thus far, the people who found themselves minus the Labour whip were, to a man and woman, all demonstrating their commitment to what used to be thought of as traditional Labour values. For other quite mouthy MPs like the usually admirable Jess Phillips there was instead a plea for party unity and a respect for party discipline. So says the MP who resigned from the Labour front bench in 2023 over the carnage in Gaza, having backed an SNP-instigated vote on a ceasefire. Then she said: 'On this occasion, I must vote with my constituents, my head, and my heart which has felt as if it were breaking over the last four weeks with the horror of the situation in Israel and Palestine.' This time, the tune seems to have changed and she says: 'Constantly taking to the airwaves and slagging off your own government – I have to say, what did you think was going to happen?' Maybe, Jess, they hadn't realised voting for the wider public interest shouldn't be a hanging offence in a party which once described itself as 'a broad church'. Or, as Abbott wrote on a social media post: 'Silencing dissent is not leadership. It's control.' But voting with your constituents, your head and your heart is not apparently an option for others whose inner voice tells them their party has simply got it wrong. Angela Rayner, one time darling of the Labour left, confined herself to saying that the Abbott situation presented 'a real challenge for the party' (sure is)! READ MORE: The Chancellor's words don't line up with her actions Rayner is an enigmatic case in point. She was, after all, a prime mover in getting the party to admit Abbott as a Labour candidate after her last long suspension. Labour's very own working-class woman has obviously decided that she can exert more influence as a deputy leader than a serial rebel with a number of causes. You might think that she had rather more in common with Abbott than, for instance, the current Chancellor. But for heavens sake, don't say so out loud if you have a Labour Party card about your person. The moral of this latest debacle is that if you get elected to parliament as a Labour candidate, please be sure to check in your conscience at the door. It has no place in the chamber these days.
Times
6 hours ago
- Times
Mary Lou McDonald or Catherine Connolly for president? Sinn Fein can't decide
Sinn Fein members are split over whether the party should put its leader, Mary Lou McDonald, forward as a presidential candidate in the forthcoming election. The Sinn Fein ard comhairle, which is the party's governing body, is expected to discuss presidential plans at a meeting this month, but senior figures believe the majority of members favour backing a candidate of the left rather than McDonald. While the majority of Sinn Fein TDs who spoke to The Sunday Times said they believed backing a candidate of the left was the most likely outcome, there was a significant minority who felt McDonald should put her name forward. Party sources believe if the preferences of the parliamentary party were tallied, there would be a 65 per cent to 35 per cent split in favour of backing a candidate agreed by the left, such as Catherine Connolly, the left-wing independent who formally launched her campaign last week. Others believed it would be closer to 60 per cent against McDonald running, and 40 per cent in favour of it. 'There is a split there on the wider question of whether we should run our own candidate or not. There are a lot of people within the parliamentary party who think we should support Catherine Connolly,' a Sinn Fein source said. 'Having said that, the argument is being made that from the perspective of what we are trying to achieve, a united Ireland, this would be a great opportunity to further that, and that we would be mad not to take it.' The senior party member said Connolly was a good choice because of her track record on social issues and pointed to her opposition to the family and care referendums. 'She was bang on when she expressed her concerns and we were really caught out there,' the source said. • Irish presidential election candidates 2025 — who is up for it? 'We are also trying to make an argument to the electorate that there is a bloc there on the left, among the opposition, who could work together and form a government after the next general election, and backing Catherine would really help that argument.' A second source said some TDs argued McDonald would make a formidable candidate. 'If we were to run someone, realistically it would have to be Michelle O'Neill [the Stormont first minister] or Mary Lou,' they said. 'If Mary Lou ran, she would wipe the floor in debates and sweep up votes across the board. It would be a good moment for the party.' Among the grassroots of the party, however, there are sharper opinions. One local rural party member said they believed there was 'no way' McDonald would run and that the conversation was not one grounded in reality. Another grassroots member said that in the course of the party's internal consultations on the presidency, it was never once suggested that McDonald could be the party's candidate and that the debate had been started by the media. Although members of the ard comhairle are expected to discuss the plans at the end of this month, it is likely Sinn Fein will wait until August to announce its intentions. Connolly, the independent Galway West TD, formally announced her candidacy last week and said she would welcome the backing of Sinn Fein. She said she believed a united Ireland was on the cards 'soon' in comments widely viewed as an attempt to woo Sinn Fein. Connolly also made a presentation to the Labour Party last week in an effort to win the support of its TDs. Labour is planning to launch a consultative process with its membership before coming to a final position. Fine Gael has nominated Mairead McGuinness, the former European commissioner, as its candidate. Her name will officially be put forward for ratification at an event in September, and this will mark the start of her presidential election campaign. 'Subject to my candidacy being ratified by the party in early September, I very much look forward to setting out my vision,' McGuinness said.
South Wales Guardian
11 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
Michael Flatley dances around Irish presidency bid
An election for the largely ceremonial role is expected towards the end of October, as it must take place in the 60 days before outgoing President Michael D Higgins's term ends on November 11. Flatley, who is eligible to run as an Irish citizen, said he had not made a final decision on the matter but is consulting with a 'team of advisers'. Speaking to RTE Radio One about newspaper speculation on a potential bid, the Irish-American said he is stopped on the street 'everywhere' he goes and asked if he will run. However, he said that speculation was the result of his last appearance on the show with host Brendan O'Connor. The choreographer and dancer said: 'I take it seriously but no I have not made a decision'. Pressed on the matter, Flatley said: 'I have a huge business to run, I have an army of dancers counting on me to make a living. 'I have a whiskey company, a beautiful young wife and son that I want to spend time with. 'If I thought that I could be of benefit to the Irish people and – maybe more importantly – if I thought I could be a voice of the Irish people' He added: 'Right now, I don't think they have a voice – not a true proper deep voice that you know that speaks their language.' Flatley said he hears they concerns of 'average person on the street' and they are not 'happy right now', adding: 'Somebody has to speak for the Irish people.' He said he was not sure the role needed another politician, adding that he had spent three decades promoting Ireland and Irish culture. He said he had not been approached by any political party, but had been contacted by some 'people in the know'. 'It's certainly not something that I've made any decision on, but it does get frustrating when you see the hardworking Irish taxpayer working as hard out and having no say in things.' Asked if he was leaning more in favour of running, he replied: 'Let it be said that I stand for Ireland and the Irish people.' To be eligible to run, a candidate must be an Irish citizen who is 35 or older. They must be nominated either by at least 20 members of the Oireachtas or at least four local authorities. Former or retiring presidents can nominate themselves. So far, two candidates have secured sufficient backing to enter the race. Mairead McGuinness, who was a TV presenter and farming journalist before becoming an MEP and EU commissioner, is the nominee to become Fine Gael's presidential candidate. Catherine Connolly, Independent TD for Galway West, has received the backing of the Social Democrats and People Before Profit, as well as independent TDs and Senators. Fianna Fail, the party with the most TDs in the Dail, has not clarified if it will run a candidate and is to make a decision in the early autumn. Sinn Fein has also not indicated a final decision on the race.
