Labour grassroots members fear the party could lose all seven of its seats due to the internal war over Alan Kelly’s departure, a secret party gathering has heard.
Party stalwarts in proposed leader Ivana Bacik’s own political backyard, Dublin Bay South, tore into her for her role in the heave, which she told the private meeting was launched after TDs were told of “stark” internal polling results, predicting an even worse showing than Labour’s current dismal 4% rating.
Party members queued up at the meeting to vent their fury at the way in which Mr Kelly was ousted in a swift coup d’etat on Wednesday evening.
There was severe criticism for the way in which Ms Bacik and the ten other members of the Labour Parliamentary Party had gotten rid of a leader who 2,000 ordinary members had elected.
One said her Labour membership had for the first time ever “brought me to tears” at the way the party hierarchy had acted, another said it was “disgusting,” while another said he believes the debacle has now cast doubt on “whether any of our seven TDs will be re-elected at the next election.”
In response, Ms Bacik apologised profusely to the Labour ‘comrades’ of Dublin Bay South at the meeting, but this did not quell the genuine anger unleashed by many long serving Labour members.
Ms Bacik said she had “turned her phone off” and not talked to any media since the putsch against Kelly, so the words reported here are her first published remarks.
She also said that she wanted internal Labour party wrangling and comments from private meetings not to make it into newspapers.
She said: “I think it would be best if we saw as little as possible about all of this in the papers.”
The Dublin Bay South constituency council meeting of senior Labour members in the area was attended by over 30 Labour stalwarts on Thursday night at 8pm.
Two encrypted passwords were required to join the video conference and it lasted one hour and ten minutes.
A particularly angry member said at the meeting: “My Labour membership never brought me to tears before like it did today.
“I am absolutely disgusted with all of you."
Another said: “I’m upset, I found it unedifying to see Alan standing outside the Dáil surrounded by all the people who had basically asked him to get lost.”
Even opponents of Mr Kelly were rocked by the coup: “I didn’t vote for Alan, I voted for Aodhan, but I’m very shocked.”
The criticism continued with another member saying: “The way that the Parliamentary Party acted was a disaster and removes any confidence I have in any of them.”
Ms Bacik took the criticism on the chin and responded: “At a meeting on Tuesday we were given very stark internal polling results, which again informed the decision.”
“I wish to apologise to you all in the constituency.”
About 20 members spoke at the meeting and there were some very established and longstanding members of the party present, including former party chairperson, Lorraine Mulligan, Councillor Mary Freehill and Councillor Dermot Lacey, a member of the party’s national executive committee.
This committee is meeting on Saturday afternoon to discuss the fallout from Mr Kelly’s forced resignation.
After all the bloodletting at the constituency meeting, Councillor Freehill formally nominated Ms Bacik to run to become the party’s next leader.
The Labour Party and Ivana Bacik were both contacted for comment by the Irish Mirror on Friday night.
