Independent Left (, "Independent Party of the

Left Wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

") is a minor unregistered Irish political party with a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

outlook. It was founded in January 2019.

History

Independent Left was founded in

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 ...

in January 2019 in the run up to the 2019 local elections. Its members include John Lyons, Niamh McDonald and

Conor Kostick Conor Kostick (born 26 June 1964) is an Irish historian and writer living in Dublin. He is the author of many works of history and fiction. Works ''Epic'' was his first novel and was awarded a place on the International Board on Books for Young ...

. In the 2014 local elections, John Lyons was elected in Dublin Beaumont-Donaghmede ward standing as a member of

People Before Profit People Before Profit ( ga, Pobal Roimh Bhrabús, PBP) is a left-wing to far-left Trotskyist political party formed in October 2005. It is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. History PBP was established in 2005 as t ...

. Lyons stood for election to the Dáil for Dublin Bay North in the

2016 Irish general election The 2016 Irish general election took place on Friday 26 February to elect 158 Teachtaí Dála (TDs) across 40 constituencies to Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's parliament. The 31st Dáil was dissolved by Preside ...

. He was not elected, being eliminated on the fourteenth count in seventh place for a five-seat constituency with 8,476 votes. On 7 January 2019, John Lyons left People Before Profit, saying the decision was a hard one, but “the difficulties I've had with the leadership of PBP over the future direction of the party in the Dublin Bay North area over the past six months could ultimately not be resolved.” In the 2019 local election, the Beaumont-Donaghmede constituency was redrawn and Lyons stood for Independent Left in the Artane-

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...

constituency in

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council wa ...

, being elected to the third (of six) seat on the sixth count. In the same election Niamh McDonald stood in the Donaghmede constituency, where she obtained 562 first preference votes, but was not elected. John Lyons stood for Independent Left in the Dublin Bay North constituency at the 2020 general election. He was eliminated on the 13th count with 6,421 votes after transfers. His first preference vote was 1,882.

Policies

Independent Left describe themselves as, "a new movement for environmentalism, socialism, freedom and equality." Their election material called for an environmentally sustainable city with easy access to public housing, healthcare and public transport. On NearFM, John Lyons advocated that all of the land that Dublin City Council control be used for public, affordable housing. Niamh McDonald has called for the introduction of community child care schemes, on a not-for-profit model.

References

External links

*{{Official website, independentleft.ie 2019 establishments in Ireland Political parties established in 2019 Left-wing politics in Ireland Environmentalism in the Republic of Ireland Socialist parties in Ireland