Left should 'join forces' before next election says Labour party chairman Jack O'Connor
Labour party chairman Jack O'Connor has called for parties on the left to join forces as a general election looms in the New Year.
Speaking at the party's national conference in Mullingar, Westmeath, Mr O'Connor appealed to Labour members to work with the Social Democrats and the Greens in a bid to alter the political landscape.
He made the call as TDs, senators and delegates gathered in the Midlands where party later Brendan Howlin today will officially launch its by-election campaign.
But speaking at the opening of the conference, Jack O'Connor accused Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael of being “wedded to the market”.
The former SIPTU boss argued that there was a need for parties and society to shift or change in order to “tackle inequality”.
He said that the left needed to be “cohesive” as he called for parties on the left, including Labour, the Social Democrats and the Greens, to work together.
Labour leader Brendan Howlin later today will launch the party's bid to elect new TDs in the four by-elections taking place on November 29.
It is expected that Labour's strongest hopes lie in candidates Cllr George Lawlor in Wexford and Cllr Duncan Smith in Dublin Fingal.
Labour senator Ivana Bacik this morning also told the conference that the party wanted to “end the scourge of homelessness”.
She said Labour had a strong track record in delivering equality for women, workers rights and children's rights.
