People Before Profit ( ga, Pobal Roimh Bhrabús, PBP) is a
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 ...
to
far-left
Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars consider ...
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
formed in October 2005.
It is active in both the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
History
PBP was established in 2005 as the People Before Profit Alliance by members of the
Socialist Workers Party (SWP), a
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
organisation affiliated to the
International Socialist Tendency
The International Socialist Tendency (IST) is an international grouping of unorthodox Trotskyist organisations espousing the ideas of Tony Cliff (1917–2000), founder of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in Britain (not to be confused with t ...
(IST). The Community & Workers Action Group (CWAG) in south Dublin joined the alliance in 2007 and brought along the party's first elected representative,
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...
, an
anti–bin tax campaigner and former member of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
. In February 2018, the SWP renamed itself the
Socialist Workers Network
The Socialist Workers Network (SWN) is an Irish Trotskyist organisation.
It was founded in 1971 as the Socialist Workers Movement (SWM), before becoming the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in 1995. The SWP was a founding member of People Before ...
(SWN) to reflect "a decision to focus on building People Before Profit, and within that to win and educate as many members as possible in revolutionary socialist politics."
The Socialist Environmental Alliance (SEA) was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
which operated in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, based largely in the city of
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...
.
The SEA contested the
Northern Ireland Assembly
sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie
, legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly
, coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg
, coa_res = 250px
, house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral
, hou ...
2003 election in the
East Londonderry and
Foyle seats (reflecting the party's Derry base). They polled poorly in East Londonderry, with candidate Marion
Baur gaining 137 first preference votes (0.4% of the total), although in Foyle
Eamonn McCann
Eamonn McCann (born 10 March 1943) is an Irish politician, journalist, political activist, and former councillor from Derry, Northern Ireland. McCann was a People Before Profit (PBP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2016 ...
gained 2,257 first preference votes (5.5% of the total).
They also contested the
2004 elections to the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, with Eamonn McCann their candidate. He won 9,172 first preference votes, or 1.6% of the total cast. McCann then stood in the
2005 general election in the
Foyle constituency, winning 3.6% of the vote.
McCann again stood for the organisation in Foyle in the
2007 Assembly election. The group was dissolved in 2008 with most of it folding into the People Before Profit Alliance.
Republic of Ireland
PBP contested several constituencies in the
2007 general election, polling around 9,000
first preferences
In certain ranked-voting systems, a first-preference vote (or first preference, 1st preference, or primary vote) is the individual voter's first choice amongst (possibly) many. In certain ranked systems such as Instant-Runoff Voting or Single T ...
, with
Richard Boyd Barrett
Richard Boyd Barrett (born 6 February 1967) is an Irish People Before Profit/Solidarity politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency since the 2011 general election. Boyd Barrett is a former member of Dún ...
—the candidate in the
Dún Laoghaire constituency—missing a seat on the 10th and final count by 7,890 votes to 9,910.
In May 2008, PBP
launched a campaign calling for a No vote on the
Lisbon Treaty
The Treaty of Lisbon (initially known as the Reform Treaty) is an international agreement that amends the two treaties which form the constitutional basis of the European Union (EU). The Treaty of Lisbon, which was signed by the EU member sta ...
when it was put to the people.
In the Republic's
2009 local elections PBP ran twelve candidates, including ten in County Dublin. It secured five seats in three of Dublin's four councils. As well as ten members of the SWP,
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...
and Pat Dunne of the CWAG ran in Dublin, and Donnie Fell (a former
Waterford Crystal
Waterford Crystal is a manufacturer of lead glass or "crystal", especially in cut glass, named after the city of Waterford, Ireland. In January 2009, the main Waterford Crystal manufacturing base on the edge of Waterford was closed due to the ...
worker and trade union representative) in Waterford.
In the Republic's
2011 general election, both Richard Boyd Barrett and Joan Collins were elected to
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 ...
as TDs (deputies), running under a joint People Before Profit and
United Left Alliance
The United Left Alliance ( ga, Comhaontas Aontaithe an Chlé, ULA) was an electoral alliance of left-wing political parties and independent politicians in the Republic of Ireland, formed to contest the 2011 general election. The grouping origin ...
banner.
In April 2013,
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. Collins is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime ...
TD and Cllr Pat Dunne left the group to form
United Left, a political party with former Socialist Party TD
Clare Daly
Clare Daly (born 16 April 1968) is an Irish politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the Dublin constituency since July 2019. She is a member of Independents 4 Change, part of The Left in the European P ...
.
In the May 2014 local elections, PBP won 14 seats including two seats outside Dublin on Sligo and Wexford County Councils.
Discussions were held in August 2015 with the
Anti-Austerity Alliance
Solidarity ( ga, Neart le Chéile), formerly known as the Anti-Austerity Alliance (AAA), is a socialist political party in Ireland, launched in 2014. It had been registered as a political party to contest local elections, and ran at least forty c ...
about forming a new political grouping. On 17 September 2015, the two parties announced they had formally registered as a single political party for electoral purposes. The new organisation was called the
Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit.
At the
2016 general election, Boyd Barrett was re-elected. He was joined by fellow PBP candidates
Gino Kenny and
Bríd Smith
Bríd Smith (born 18 September 1961) is an Irish People Before Profit–Solidarity politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South-Central constituency since the 2016 general election.
In 2001, she was an ATGWU shop steward ...
.
In 2016, Councillor Sonya Stapleton, representing Pembroke–South Dock on
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 ...
, left the party, as did Councillor Ruth Nolan, a member of
South Dublin County Council
South Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Átha Cliath Theas) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of South Dublin, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities created by the Local Government (Dublin) Act ...
for Lucan, who joined
Independents 4 Change
Independents 4 Change ( ga, Neamhspleáigh ar son an Athraithe) is a left-wing Irish political party.
History
The political grouping registered as a political party since 2014. It was previously known as Independents for Equality Movement.
T ...
.
In January 2019, Dublin City Councillor John Lyons resigned from the party due to disputes with the leadership. Cllr Lyons subsequently was a leading figure in the foundation of
Independent Left
The Independent Left (french: Gauche indépendante, GI) was a French parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies of France of the French Third Republic during the interwar period.
It was not a political party but a technical group formed by ind ...
. He criticised his former party saying: "Solidarity and People Before Profit are the closest fit to us but have a hierarchical, carefully controlled internal life that is not fit for the purpose of socialist change."
The party retained its three TDs in the 2020 Irish general election.
People Before Profit supported
Debenhams Ireland
Debenhams Ireland was a national chain of department stores in Ireland, that was owned ultimately by Debenhams plc. It was largely based on the former Roches Store chain, though after that business divested its grocery units.
History
Roches S ...
workers in their 2020 industrial dispute.
On 28 February 2021,
RISE
Rise or RISE may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world
* Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3''
* Rise Kujikawa, a vide ...
, a democratic socialist party that had previously split from
Solidarity
''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
in 2019, merged with People Before Profit.
Paul Murphy became the party's 4th TD in the process. It maintains its media and functions as an internal organisation.
On 10 May 2021, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Councillor Hugh Lewis departed from the party following an internal disciplinary procedure.
Northern Ireland
![Gerry Carroll 2016 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Gerry_Carroll_2016_%28cropped%29.jpg)
People Before Profit unsuccessfully ran one candidate, Sean Mitchell, in the
2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election, polling 774 first preferences in the
Belfast West constituency. He successfully gained the right to stand in an election by threatening to take the then
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...
,
Peter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State ...
, to court if the legal loophole preventing him from doing so was enforced. (England, Scotland and Wales had secured the right to contest candidates under the age of 20, providing they were over 18, for constituencies for devolved government, whereas Northern Ireland had been simply excluded).
People Before Profit ran four candidates in the
Northern Ireland Assembly election of May 2011, winning 5,438 first-preference votes between them but no seats in the new Assembly. Its most successful candidate in this election was
Eamonn McCann
Eamonn McCann (born 10 March 1943) is an Irish politician, journalist, political activist, and former councillor from Derry, Northern Ireland. McCann was a People Before Profit (PBP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2016 ...
, who won 3,120 first-preference votes, or 8% of the total, in
Foyle.
In the June 2011
Belfast West by-election,
Gerry Carroll
Gerry Carroll (born 27 April 1987) is a People Before Profit politician from Belfast, Northern Ireland, who has represented the Belfast West constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly since May 2016. From 2014 until 2016 he also represented ...
won 1,751 votes (7.6%), coming in third place and ahead of both unionist candidates.
In the
2014 Belfast City Council election, Carroll became the first PBP councillor elected in Northern Ireland, winning 3rd place in the
Black Mountain DEA, with 1,691 1st Preference votes.
In May 2016, Carroll topped the poll in the
Belfast West constituency at the
2016 Assembly Election with 8,299 votes (22.9%), almost 4,000 first-preference votes clear of his nearest challenger,
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...
MLA
Fra McCann (Sinn Féin was running five candidates). This victory secured PBP with their first elected MLA.
Eamonn McCann
Eamonn McCann (born 10 March 1943) is an Irish politician, journalist, political activist, and former councillor from Derry, Northern Ireland. McCann was a People Before Profit (PBP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Foyle from 2016 ...
also took a seat in the constituency of
Foyle. In
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, Carroll retained his seat but with a much reduced vote (12.2%), while McCann lost his.
The party gained 4 seats in the 2019 Local Elections. People Before Profit won 5 council seats, 3 in Belfast City Council and 2 in Derry.
The party stood two candidates in the
2019 general election, with their best performance being by Gerry Carroll in the
Belfast West seat: he came second with 16%.
PBP retained their singular seat in the
2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election
The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on 5 May 2022. It elected 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It was the seventh assembly election since the establishment of the assembly in 1998. The election was held three months ...
.
Ideology and policies
People Before Profit are a
Trotskyist
Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
party committed to political agitation through working-class
mass action in capitalist societies.
However, People Before Profit do not accept this label, with their website stating that "Trotskyist is the Labour Party's bizarre code word for anyone with strong left-wing principles". The party self-claims to be an
eco-socialist
Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism or socialist ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansi ...
party. It described its 2022
AGM as a "positive step forward in building a major, pluralist eco-socialist party in Ireland" and described its party programme as eco-socialist.
In the Northern Ireland Assembly, the party's assembly members sign the register as "socialist" when asked if they are "
unionist" or "
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
", resulting in an official designation of "other" in the assembly. However the party is not neutral on constitutional matters, and are in favour of "a 32 county socialist Ireland." People Before Profit support a referendum on Irish reunification. This is in contrast to their alliance partners
Solidarity
''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
who oppose one.
People Before Profit have supported leaving the EU
and campaigned for a 'Lexit' (a left-wing Brexit) in the
2016 EU referendum
The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar to ask the electorate whether the country shoul ...
in Northern Ireland. Commenting on their pro-Brexit position, Gerry Carroll stated "We made a decision to say that the EU does not operate in the interests of working people anywhere, and the strongest example of that is Greece. What we need is a Brexit that is not shaped by
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
, we need one that is shaped by working-class people in Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. And one that is shaped by the trade union movement." Members of Sinn Féin criticised this stance, saying that supporting Brexit, tactically or otherwise, aligned PBP with British parties such as
the Conservatives,
UKIP
The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...
, the
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...
and
Traditional Unionist Voice
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties, the TUV's political programme has as its sine qua non the preservation of Northern Ireland's place ...
and regardless of PBP's intentions, this would serve the pro-Brexit agenda. In response, Richard Boyd-Barrett tried to distance PBP's position from those parties, and noted that PBP opposed a hard border, and would encourage "a movement of civil disobedience to remove border posts if they are imposed by either the UK government or the EU".
The party has stated its support for
free public transport
Free public transport, often called fare-free public transit or zero-fare public transport, refers to public transport funded in full by means other than by collecting fares from passengers. It may be funded by national, regional or local gover ...
.
People Before Profit support
nationalising the "major Agri-corporations" and using them to finance a “
just transition
Just transition is a framework developed by the trade union movement to encompass a range of social interventions needed to secure workers' rights and livelihoods when economies are shifting to sustainable production, primarily combating climat ...
” for farmers and rural Ireland. PBP also seek to cut the national cow herd by 50% and pay farmers a
green payment to offset this, provided a farmer doesn't earn more than €100,000 a year.
People Before Profit seek to create a state-owned building corporation that would be used to
retrofit
Retrofitting is the addition of new technology or features to older systems. Retrofits can happen for a number of reasons, for example with big capital expenditures like naval vessels, military equipment or manufacturing plants, businesses or go ...
existing homes.
People Before Profit support the legalisation of
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...
for medical and general use. It states that it wants to "legislate for the use of medicinal cannabis for pain management of chronic conditions" and medical cannabis be "researched and made available as an evidence-based option for health care providers and patients". It also states that it wants the "non-commercialised legalisation of cannabis to be regulated by a new state body and dispensed via designated stores". In November 2022, Gino Kenny introduced a bill to legalise personal usage of cannabis, and possession of up to seven grams of cannabis.
Foreign policy
People Before Profit are opposed to
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
.
People Before Profit support
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations ...
, a
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.
People Before Profit oppose economic sanctions against Russia as a response to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
.
Paul Murphy stated "We stood for the people of Ukraine and stand with them in their struggle against the Russian imperialist invasion. We can’t applaud calls for more sanctions which are hurting ordinary Russians and are only bolstering the Putin regime at home."
Simon Coveney
Simon Coveney (born 16 June 1972) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment since December 2022 and Deputy Leader of Fine Gael since 2017. He previously served as Minister for Foreign Affai ...
and
Neale Richmond
Neale Richmond (born 15 March 1983) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister of State since 2023. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Rathdown constituency since the 2020 general election. He previously served as ...
of
Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
have suggested it is contradictory for PBP to support sanctions against Israel and not against Russia.
Paul Murphy responded "The situation in Israel/Palestine is that they’ve struggled for decades against the oppression of the Palestinian people. You have a call for BDS coming from ordinary Palestinians, including Palestinians who live within the state of Israel and suffer apartheid at the hands of Israel."
Election results and governments
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Assembly elections
Westminster elections
Northern Ireland local elections
Republic of Ireland
General elections
Irish local elections
European elections
People Before Profit have only contested European elections in the Republic of Ireland.
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2005 establishments in Ireland
All-Ireland political parties
Anti-austerity political parties in the United Kingdom
Anti-capitalist political parties
Ecosocialist parties
Left-wing politics in Ireland
Political parties established in 2005
Socialist parties in Ireland
Trotskyist organisations in Ireland