The United Left Alliance ( ga, Comhaontas Aontaithe an Chlé, ULA) was an
electoral alliance
An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political party, political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand ...
of left-wing political parties and
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
politicians in 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 ...
, formed to contest the
2011 general election. The grouping originally consisted of three existing political parties, 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 t ...
, the
People Before Profit Alliance
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 ...
(PBPA), and the
Workers and Unemployed Action Group
Workers and Unemployed Action (WUA; ) is an Irish political party based in Clonmel in South County Tipperary, set up in 1985 by Séamus Healy. WUA had one Teachta Dála (TD) until 2020 and has endorsed and seen a number of its members elected ...
(WUAG),
[ as well as former members of the Labour Party.]
Its formation was announced in early November 2010 and it was formally launched on 29 November 2010 at the Gresham Hotel
Hotel Riu Plaza The Gresham Dublin, formerly The Gresham Hotel, is a historic four-star hotel on O'Connell Street in Dublin, Ireland. It is a Dublin institution and landmark building which was refurbished in the early 2000s.
History
Hotel foun ...
in Dublin. In the February 2011 general election it ran twenty candidates of which five were elected. Its share of the national vote was 2.6%.
The Workers and Unemployed Action Group withdrew from the alliance on 2 October 2012 following disagreements with the other parties. The Socialist Party left the United Left Alliance in January 2013, later co-founding the Anti-Austerity Alliance.[
There was a reorientation within the ULA in March 2013 when Joan Collins TD left PBPA and, along with other public representatives Clare Daly TD and Cllr Declan Bree as well as some individual members, formed a new platform or organisation within the ULA called United Left.
Since late 2013, the Alliance is defunct. Although the Alliance was not long-lasting, it arguably paved the way for the creation of ]Solidarity–People Before Profit
People Before Profit/Solidarity ( ga, Pobal Roimh Bhrabús/DlúthphairtÃocht, PBPS, PBP/S, or S-PBP) is a left-wing electoral alliance in the Republic of Ireland. It was formed by members of two socialist political parties in the Republic of I ...
, another left-wing electoral alliance in Ireland.
Foundation
The formation of the group was announced at a press conference held on 25 November 2010.[ This followed the announcement a few days earlier that the ]Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
would be exiting from the governing coalition with Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtà Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
, leading to a general election in early 2011, and the day after the unveiling of a four-year austerity plan to tackle the country's financial crisis
A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with banking panics, and man ...
.
On 11 January 2011 it was reported that members of the Labour Party in Laois–Offaly had joined the ULA due to dissatisfaction with the selection convention for the general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
. Ray Fitzpatrick was selected to run in Laois Offaly as a ULA/Socialist Party candidate. Another candidate Liam Dumpleton chose to break his ties with the ULA and ran as an independent.[
Sligo councillor and former Labour TD, ]Declan Bree
Declan Bree (born 1 July 1951) is an Irish independent politician. He was a founder of the Sligo/Leitrim Independent Socialist Organisation in 1974, and was a member of that group until joining the Labour Party in 1991. He served in Dáil Éi ...
's Independent Socialist Group joined the ULA in February 2011, and it was confirmed that Bree would be standing in the Sligo–North Leitrim constituency. Bree had been involved in the talks about setting up the ULA in November 2010 however disagreements arose over the addition of other candidates such as Catherine Connolly
Catherine Connolly (born 12 July 1957) is an Irish Independent politician who has served as the Leas-Cheann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann since July 2020. She has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency since 2016. She previo ...
in Galway West.
The ULA is also receiving backing from Socialist Democracy
Socialist democracy is a political system that aligns with principles of both socialism and democracy. It includes ideologies such as council communism, democratic socialism, and Soviet democracy, as well as Marxist democracy like the dictatorsh ...
, a small Trotskyist group. The Irish Republican Socialist Party
The Irish Republican Socialist Party or IRSP ( ga, Páirtà Poblachtach Sóisialach na hÉireann) is a Marxist-Leninist and republican party in Ireland. It is often referred to as the "political wing" of the Irish National Liberation Army (I ...
(IRSP) permits its members to aid ULA election campaigns in a personal capacity but has criticised the ULA's lack of revolutionary and anti-imperialist platforms. A number of other left parties including the Workers Party and the Communist Party of Ireland
The Communist Party of Ireland (CPI; ga, Páirtà Cumannach na hÉireann) is an all-Ireland Marxist–Leninist communist party, founded in 1933 and re-founded in 1970. It rarely contests elections and has never had electoral success. The part ...
are not affiliated to the ULA but co-operate with one another on issues where they hold common positions.
The United Left Alliance name did not appear on ballot papers for the 2011 general election, and candidates were listed under their individual parties or as non-party. This was because the alliance is not yet a registered political party: attempts to have "United Left Alliance" added to the names of the constituent parties by the Registrar of Political Parties had not been completed in time for the 25 February poll.
In April 2012 in Dublin the second ULA conference was held, two non-aligned members (non-Socialist Party or People Before Profit members) of the ULA were elected to the steering committee.
Programme
The alliance declared that it wished to become an alternative to a potential 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 à ...
–Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
coalition government that could be formed following the election.[ They oppose public spending cuts and reductions in welfare and pay rates and have ruled out deals or coalitions with either ]Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtà Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
or 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 à ...
– who they describe as "right wing parties". The programme agreed by the parties making up the alliance has seven "key demands".
2011 general election candidates
The alliance initially stated that it expected to stand about twenty candidates for election in 2011.[ By 14 February twenty had been announced.][ Five candidates were elected.
Denotes candidates elected to Dáil Éireann
]
31st Dáil
The five TDs elected under the ULA banner sit as part of the Technical Group
In politics, a technical group or mixed group is a heterogenous parliamentary group composed of elected officials from political parties of differing ideologies (or independent of any party) who are not numerous enough to form groups on their own. ...
, along with 11 other Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
TDs.
It was reported in April 2011 in the political magazine '' The Phoenix'' that the ULA was divided between the Socialist Party and the PBPA with "palpable tension between the two groups at their own weekly ULA meetings as well as at Technical Group gatherings, with BB ichard Boyd Barretand oeHiggins barely speaking to each other unless required to conduct essential business."
The ULA held its first national convention on 27 June in Liberty Hall
Liberty Hall ( ga, Halla na Saoirse), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest b ...
in Dublin which was attended by 400 people. The ULA has no constitution nor a mechanism for its members to directly participate in election of officers or decide on policy. It is governed by a "Steering Committee" composed of representatives from the Socialist Party, PBPA, and WUAG. This was originally intended to be an interim arrangement pending agreement between the constituent parties on a permanent party structure. However such an agreement looks increasingly unlikely. ''The Phoenix'' magazine on 10 February 2012 reported relations as "descended into fratricide yet again" and "open warfare". A decision was taken by the Steering Committee and communicated to members in November 2011 to hold a national conference of the ULA in late January 2012. It was then changed to 28 April 2012. Two independent members were elected by members unaffiliated to the three founding organisations to the steering committee at the conference.
In September 2011, a national campaign was launched to boycott a proposed €100 household charge. The ULA and its constituent parts are heavily involved in the campaign which also includes other left parties and political groups such as the Workers Party, Workers Solidarity Movement
Anarchism in Ireland has its roots in the stateless organisation of the ''túatha'' in Gaelic Ireland. It first began to emerge from the libertarian socialist tendencies within the Irish republican movement, with anarchist individuals and orga ...
(Anarchist organisation), ÉirÃgÃ
ÉirÃgà (), officially ÉirÃgà For A New Republic, is a socialist republican political party in Ireland. The party name, , means "Arise" or "Rise Up" in Irish, and is a reference to the slogan "The great only appear great because we are on ...
and some 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 ...
members and a majority non-aligned activists and householders. Richard Boyd Barrett promised "a mass campaign of resistance" and Joe Higgins promised "a very, very big campaign in political and organisational terms". United Left Alliance TDs Richard Boyd Barrett, Joan Collins, Clare Daly and Joe Higgins opposed the imprisonment of County Offaly pensioner Teresa Treacy, jailed on 13 September 2011 for contempt of court
Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
after refusing access to her land for the construction of ESB power lines.
In the two constitutional referendums held alongside the 2011 Irish presidential election, the United Left Alliance advocated a "yes" vote on the Twenty-ninth Amendment (Judges' Remuneration) and a "no" vote on the Thirtieth Amendment (Houses of the Oireachtas Inquiries). The Socialist Party/ULA also unsuccessfully contested the Dublin West by-election securing 21.1% of the first preference vote, in third place behind Labour and Fianna Fáil.
On 2 November 2011, Sinn Féin and United Left Alliance TDs walked out of the Dáil in protest against the government's decision not to hold a debate on the payment of more than €700 million to Anglo Irish Bank
Anglo Irish Bank was an Republic of Ireland, Irish bank headquartered in Dublin from 1964 to 2011. It began to wind down after nationalisation in 2009. In July 2011 Anglo Irish merged with the Irish Nationwide Building Society, forming a new co ...
bondholders.
They campaigned for a "no" vote in the 2012 European Fiscal Compact referendum.
Expenses controversy
In 2012 TDs Joan Collins, Claire Daly and Joe Higgins were embroiled in a controversy over expenses claims; their travel expenses seemed to have been used for travel expenses other than for constituency travel and journeys to the Dail,[Pressure mounts on technical group in expenses fiasco](_blank)
By Niall O'Connor, Evening Herald, Tuesday, 3 July 2012 expenses were used for travelling to anti-household charge meetings. Joan Collins TD also admitted to using the expenses to campaign against the household charge, and said she would repay them. Richard Boyd Barrett did not claim travel expenses for travel outside his constituency and Seamus Healy did not use travel expenses for anti-household charge campaign meeting travel. It was subsequently confirmed by the Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin that they were entitled to claim travelling expenses for travel outside of their constituencies. The ULA and Socialist Party stated at the time that the story was a "manufactured controversy" and part of a "vindictive smear campaign by Independent Newspapers".
Wallace controversy
In June 2012 it was revealed that independent TD Mick Wallace
Michael Wallace (born 9 November 1955) is an Irish politician and former property developer who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the South constituency since July 2019. He is a member of Independents 4 Change, ...
had knowingly underdeclared VAT
A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the en ...
. While Wallace was not a member of the ULA, within the Technical Group
In politics, a technical group or mixed group is a heterogenous parliamentary group composed of elected officials from political parties of differing ideologies (or independent of any party) who are not numerous enough to form groups on their own. ...
he was known to be close to the ULA TDs, particularly Clare Daly. Seamus Healy, WUAG TD, immediately called for Wallace to resign his seat, describing his behaviour as "completely and absolutely wrong and unacceptable". 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 ...
, Socialist Party TD for Dublin North, refused to support the call for Wallace to stand down. Daly resigned from the Socialist Party on 31 August 2012. The party said "it believed Ms Daly had resigned because she placed more value on her political connection with Independent TD Mick Wallace than on the political positions and work of the Socialist Party." Daly stated that she intended to remain a member of the ULA as an independent. The Socialist Party responded with a statement on 3 September questioning her future membership as she had "already inflicted serious damage on herself, and some damage on the Socialist Party and the United Left Alliance". On 8 October 2012 Daly appeared on the ''Tonight with Vincent Browne
''Tonight with Vincent Browne'', (formerly ''Nightly News with Vincent Browne''), was a news analysis, current affairs and politics programme which was broadcast on Ireland's TV3 from 2007 to July 2017. Its time on air coincided with the premie ...
'' programme on TV3 and was questioned on her reasons for resigning from the Socialist Party. She stated that "not enough attention was being put into...the building of the ULA" and referred to "plenty of reasons" over a long period. Daly also condemned "the actions" of Mick Wallace in avoiding payments of VAT.
Departure of WUAG and the Socialist Party
On 2 October 2012 the Workers and Unemployed Action Group withdrew from the United Left Alliance. The party chairman, Seamus Healy, stated that the WUAG's calls for Wallace's resignation had been blocked on a number of occasions by the other parties in the alliance.[ The party stated that it had a commitment to "tax equity and defence of public services" which could more effectively be campaigned for outside the United Left Alliance. The statement also cited concerns over "factional activity" by the Socialist Workers Party, which it claimed was attempting to boost its own membership at the expense of the ULA.
In December 2012, the Socialist Party stated "we will be diminishing our participation in the ULA". On 26 January 2013, the Socialist Party announced they were withdrawing from the ULA.]
Formation of the United Left party and decline
In April 2013 it was announced that Clare Daly and Joan Collins had officially registered the United Left party and that it would be launched in May 2013.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Left Alliance
2010 establishments in Ireland
2011 Irish general election
2013 disestablishments in Ireland
All-Ireland political parties
Defunct political parties in the Republic of Ireland
Defunct political party alliances in Europe
Political parties disestablished in 2013
Political parties established in 2010
Political party alliances in Ireland
Socialist Party (Ireland)