Editorial 3 A tale of two elections

In the Local Elections in the North more filling it. polled 826 first preferences and came n on 2 May , who And when you drill down into the detail in seventh in a six seater ahead of two the Irish Marxist Review supports, made of the results they get, if anything, even Shinners and the Alliance, and Maeve a major breakthrough increasing its more impressive. For example in the O’Neill in the Waterside, also a first timer representation from 1 councillor to 5. In Black Mountain ward in West Belfast with few resources, polled an excellent the Local Elections in the South on 24 , PBP Councillor Matt Collins came 752. In Derry and Strabane overall PBP May People Before Profit experienced a top of the poll, ahead of six Sinn Fein, polled 3590 first preferences. setback, losing 4 seats and gaining 1, so with 2,268 votes , 16.14% of first How was this achieved? Anyone who has that our total went from 10 to 7 seats. preferences. Of course this doesn’t watched our comrades in the North in Across the 32 counties we increased mean PBP is bigger than SF – SF won recent years will know that part of the from 11 seats overall to 12. the next six seats and their combined answer is prodigious work; not just in the Viewed from above, as the mainstream vote far exceeds that of PBP - but it election itself but consistently over years, media see things, the main story in the is still a stunning result. The result in in which they engage with everything that North is that the election shows a limited the nearby Collin ward where Michael moves on the ground in the local com- erosion of the ‘hard border’ between Collins polled 1,565 first preferences, munity. But work alone, without political unionism and nationalism. The Alliance and was elected in second place is strategy, is not enough and PBP had a Party increased its seats from 32 in almost as good. On the face of it Fiona clear strategy across the six counties 2014 to 53 and its vote from 41,769 Ferguson’s vote of 447 in Old Park in of focusing relentlessly on the issue of to 77,742; some of this may be due to North Belfast was less successful but welfare reform and Universal Credit, as ‘remain’ unionists voting Alliance and she was operating in much more difficult a symbol of rising poverty and inequality some of it to frustration at the non- territory , with a stronger sectarian in general, so as to put the big parties functioning of Stormont. The Greens divide, and the fact that she was able on the back foot. Importantly, this was increased their seats from 4 to 8 and to win on the basis of transfers – ahead combined with being in the forefront of their vote 5,515 to 14,284. Doubtless of the second DUP, the Alliance and campaigning over racism, sexism, abor- this is part of the international green the Greens – was also tremendous. In tion rights and trans rights. tide. this context it is important to mention Obviously the story in the South was Viewed from below, from the standpoint the result of first time candidate, Cailin different. The local elections were a of the left, however, it is the expansion of McCaffery , in Court ward. Court contains difficult day for all of the radical left People Before Profit that was amazing. both the Shankill Rd and the Falls Rd and for Sinn Fein who, we must rember, What made it so surprising, including and is majority unionist . The poll was are generally seen as part of the left. to the writer of this Editorial, was that topped by 4 Unionists -3 DUP and 1 PUP Unfortunately People Before Profit lost it came after the setback of Eamonn (the infamous UVF sectarian killer, Billy four excellent sitting councillors (Dave McCann losing his MLA seat in the Hutchinson) - followed by 2 Sinn Fein. O’Keeffe, Andrew Keegan, Emma Hen- very polarised election (in the unionist- Cailin McCaffery was not elected, she drick and Tony Walsh) who had served nationalist sense) of January 2017 came seventh in a six seater, but polled their communities well. With the victory and in the teeth of a major propaganda 686 first preferences – a superb result. of Adrienne Wallace in Carlow this left campaign by Sinn Fein blaming PBP for Belfast was matched by Derry .The richly our total at seven. This was part of a wid- the possibility of a hard border, which deserved election of Eamonn McCann er pattern in which Sinn Fein lost about was clearly an attempt to wipe out, in third place in The Moor was perhaps half of their council seats and saw their in terms of political representation, to be expected, given Eamonn’s long overall vote in the South fall by 6.4% to their rivals to their left. In those record and high profile, but the addition 9.5%, while they also suffered a heavy circumstances for PBP to go from 1 of relative newcomer, Shaun Harkin, in blow through the loss of Lyn Boylan in council seat to 5 and to increase its total Foyleside, also in third place with 977 the EU election. At the same time vote from 1,923 in 2014 to 9,478 in votes was a tremendous bonus. And as smaller left parties such as Solidarity 2019 is a brilliant achievement. It shows in Belfast some of the near misses were and the Workers Party were also hit. Sol- that in the North a non- sectarian space as impressive as the victories. Nually idarity are reduced to four council seats to the left of Sinn Fein continues to exist Crilly, in Ballyarnett, was a first time can- and the Workers Party who lost their key and that People Before Profit is more and didate with very few resources, but she figure of Éilis Ryan in North Inner City are

IRISH MARXIST REVIEW 4 down to one. than in Dublin, eg. 53% in Bandon-Kin- intuitive the explanation is that it was What explains this pattern? First that sale, 58.9 % in Bantry-West Cork, 62% due to running more candidates which Irish capitalism has, in relative terms, in Donegal and so on. has the downside that there were more been doing pretty well, with GDP growth Another factor was the Green surge losing candidates but it remains a fact, rates of 5.1% (2016), 7.3%(2017) produced by the very welcome change and it is also a fact that the lion’s share and 4.4% (2018) and unemployment in public consciousness about climate of that increase was contributed by the falling from 8.4% in 2016 to 4.6% in change and particularly influenced by PBP wing of Solidarity- PBP. April 2019. With all the caveats about the excellent school strikes (with school Two further points should be made the housing crisis, rising inequality students influencing their parents to about the Local Elections: Fianna Fail and substantial desperate poverty, this vote for the Greens)in the run up to, and on 26.9% nationally and on means that the Irish ruling class have on the day of, the election. This varied 25.2 % made no significant advance not felt the need, in the last few years, across the country but was especially and Labour remains mired on 5.7% - so to mount the kind of generalised assault strong in parts of Dublin with the Greens the three main establishment parties, on working class living standards that effortlessly topping the poll in Pembroke despite the state of the economy, are characterised the austerity years and (where polled 4069 first not progressing; in contrast to much which produced, especially among the preferences!), South East Inner City, of Europe the far right racists got next manual working class, both the mass wa- South West Inner City, North Inner City, to nothing ( though Peter Casey got ter charges movement and the seething -, and in much of dangerously close in the Midlands – resentment which manifested in the rise Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown such as Dun North West) and the same was true of of Sinn Fein and, to a lesser extent, of Laoghaire, Blackrock and Dundrum. the anti-choice traditionalists (Aontú and the socialist far left. Much of the vote came from ). This in turn resulted in a low turnout in Fine Gael (a step in the right direction ) Regarding the Euro elections, these were manual working class areas. This was but some of it probably came from the always going to be very unfavourable linked to the widespread feeling that left or captured the allegiance of leftward territory for a small party like People there was ‘no point’ in bothering to vote moving young people, particularly among Before Profit. We simply did not have the in local elections. At the root of this is white collar workers (teachers, nurses, resources to mount effective campaigns the erosion of the power of elected coun- office workers etc) who might otherwise over such massive areas, we got very cillors and its concentration in the hands have voted for the left. In some places little media exposure, and we were not of Council managers or CEOs as they are they were able to leap frog over well running high profile candidates – they now called. As a consequence it appears established socialist or left candidates. were all first timers. Despite this Gillian to a layer of working class people that For example without the Green surge Brien got a splendid 10,846 first prefer- ‘they are all the same’. In the North Inner it is almost certain that PBP’s Cllr Tina ences (ahead of Alice Mary Higgins, Ben City of Dublin turn out in the locals was MacVeigh would have topped the poll in Gilroy and Gemma O’Doherty ) in Dublin, only 35.3%; in Blanchardstown- Mulhud- the South West Inner City and possible Adrienne Wallace a terrific 14,802 in dart 30.3%; in - 37.7%; that PBP’s Lola Hynes would have been South and Cyril Brennan a very in – 36.4%; and elected in Blackrock. Similarly in the creditable 8,130 in Midlands North in particularly impoverished areas within Dublin Euro election, without the massive West. In addition three high profile left these areas such as Cherry Orchard in vote for Ciaran Cuffe, Sinn Fein’s Lyn Independents, with a reputation as Ballyfermot or Fettercairn in Tallaght it Boylan would probably have held her challengers of the establishment – Luke was lower still. This contrasts with 50.3% seat. ’Ming’ Flanagan, Clare Daly and Mick in Dundrum, 48.6% in Blackrock and In these rather adverse circumstances Wallace – were elected with big votes 49.3% in Clontarf. It is very important People Before Profit actually held showing there is an audience for left for socialists to understand that this low up well – much better than more ideas across the State. turnout at the poorer end of the working pessimistic sections of the far left – All things considered the 24 May was class is not immutable. When there and in a few areas did very well. In not as bad a day for the left as the was a clear choice which they could see Ballyfermot-Drimnagh Cllr Hazel de media and indeed some on the left are affected their lives such as the Repeal Nortuin came second with 1383 and saying. Certainly, where People Before Referendum and before that the Mar- the aforementioned Cllr Tina MacVeigh Profit is concerned the results constitute riage Equality these same people turned likewise with 938 in the South West a serious base on which to build into out in their droves. But in this election Inner City. There were also a number the future always bearing in mind that, they did not and this disproportionately of very creditable near misses such as while contesting elections is essential, affected those parties whose voting base Peter Dooley, in Kimmage- Rathmines the purpose of the exercise is to serve was, to a considerable extent, in this and Annette Mooney in South East Inner and enhance the struggle in the streets, layer, ie. Sinn Fein and the socialist left. City. One slightly surprising fact is that communities and workplaces where the Interestingly in this election there was in Dublin as a whole the decisive battles of the class struggle will generally a much higher turnout in the Solidarity-PBP vote rose to 5%, up by be fought and won. usually more conservative rural areas 5.5% on 2014. If that seems counter John Molyneux