The 2020 Labour Party leadership election was a leadership election within Ireland's Labour Party that was triggered when

Brendan Howlin Brendan Howlin (born 9 May 1956) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency since 1987. He previously served as Leader of the Labour Party from 2016 to 2020, Minister for Public Expenditu ...

stepped down as Labour leader on 12 February 2020, in the aftermath of the party's poor showing at the

2020 general election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

. The election was won by Alan Kelly who received 55% of the votes cast.

Background

was elected unopposed as Labour Party leader in a 2016 leadership election. While Labour had a modest gain of six seats in the 2019 local elections, it lost one seat in the

, resulting in the party having its lowest ever number of seats in

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

with just six TDs elected. Howlin subsequently announced that he would resign as Labour leader stating that it had been "an honour" to lead the party but feels it is time to step down.

Procedure

The Labour Party Executive Board met in the

Gresham Hotel Hotel Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin, formerly The Gresham Hotel, is a historic Star (classification)#Hotel ratings, four-star hotel on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a Dublin institution and landmark building which ...

in Dublin on 15 February to agree on the rules for the contest. Only party TDs were eligible for the post of leader, and candidates must have been nominated by either two TDs (they could nominate themselves) or five constituency councils. All members of the party had a vote, provided they had been a paid-up party member since 28 August 2018. Postal ballot papers were sent to Labour members on 15 March and the closing date for returning votes was on 3 April. A voter had to be a fully paid-up member for 21 days before polling day - meaning the last day they could sign up was 13 March.

Candidates

Confirmed

Declined

The following individuals were discussed in the media as potential leadership candidates, but did not stand: *

Seán Sherlock Seán Sherlock (born 6 December 1972) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork East constituency since the 2007 general election. He served as a Minister of State from 2011 to 2016. Early life Sherlo ...

, TD for Cork East, former

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

''(endorsed Kelly)'' * Ged Nash, TD for

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town *Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * County ...

, former

''(endorsed Ó Ríordáin)''

Debates

Several hustings events and public debates were scheduled to take place throughout the leadership campaign; however, as a result of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

situation, the Labour Party canceled the remaining hustings in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Labour Party (Ireland) Leadership Election, 2020 2020 elections in the Republic of Ireland 2020 in Irish politics Labour Party (Ireland) Labour Party leadership elections (Ireland) Labour Party leadership election (Ireland)