Why a Combined Left Challenge in the General Election is Essential
By Diana O’Dwyer
The 2020 General Election presents a huge challenge for the radical left: how to retain and if possible improve on the unprecedented gains of the last election against a very different backdrop? At the time of the last election in 2016, the country was only beginning to emerge from a catastrophic economic crash and we were close to the high point of struggles against austerity and water charges. We now face a very different situation of economic recovery, a low ebb in struggle and a rising far right, which is likely to be more difficult terrain for the left. For RISE, a crucial part of the solution is for the radical Left and supportive social movements to unite around a common broad left platform and agree a slate of candidates on that basis.
The 2016 election saw 14 TDs elected who are either of the radical left or are Independents widely seen as standing on the left. These included: 3 each for People Before Profit and the Anti-Austerity Alliance (now composed of 2 Solidarity and 1 RISE); Seamus Healy of the Workers and Unemployed Action Group (WUAG); 4 Independents4Change (I4C) (Mick Wallace, Clare Daly, Tommy Broughan and Joan Collins) and three Independents, Catherine Connolly, Thomas Pringle and Maureen O’Sullivan. With the departure of Daly and Wallace to the European Parliament, that number has since been reduced to 12. There is a real danger that a significantly lower number of left TDs will be returned to the next Dáil.
Left TDs strengthen our movements
This would be a considerable blow for the working class, women, immigrants, LGBTQ+ and other oppressed groups, given the progressive role of the parliamentary left in important victories in recent years, most notably abolishing water charges and repealing the 8th. Paul Murphy’s victory in the October 2014 by-election on the same day as the first mass anti-charges demonstration gave a major boost to the emerging movement and in particular to the decisive tactic of non-payment, which only the radical left supported in the Dáil. Two years later, in October 2016 Ruth Coppinger introduced the first ever bill to repeal the 8th amendment on behalf of Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit.
Left TDs have consistently brought the concerns of the working class and protest movements onto the floor of the Dáil, highlighting important issues from housing and homelessness to climate change, bogus self-employment, tip theft and zero hour contracts, Garda malpractice, sex education, violence against women, and LGBTQ+ rights. They have brought left and socialist solutions like the Anti-Evictions Bill, the Housing Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill, the Water in Public Ownership Bill, the Trade Union Bill, the Climate Emergency Bill, the Objective Sex Education Bill, the Restoration of Birthright Citizenship Bill, motions to abolish direct provision, and most recently RISE’s Green New Deal, into the mainstream, often forcing the government into abusing the money message procedure to block them. RISE and People Before Profit are now challenging that undemocratic sleight of hand in the courts. Paul Murphy has also been to the fore in exposing the “fobgate” scandal over TD attendance, voting and expenses, again illustrating that not all TDs are the same.
The important contribution of left TDs in the current Dáil contrasts with the Dáil before last, which offered only feeble resistance to the bank bailouts and austerity following the 2008 crash. The last pre-crisis election in 2007 was a low point for the left - Joe Higgins and Seamus Healy lost their seats and no additional Left seats were won. We must do everything in our power to prevent history repeating itself. It will be a tragedy if the Left is again left without representation just as another capitalist crisis beckons - this time not only of the economy but of the entire ecosystem on which life depends.
Without left TDs in the Dáil combined with movements on the streets, it will be far easier for the capitalist establishment to foist the cost of another crisis onto working people - as they are already trying to do with carbon taxes and the proposed broadcasting charge. This undermining of living standards will be massively intensified once the next crisis hits. First in line will be fresh cuts and privatisation of health, education and housing and attacks on public sector workers, none of which have recovered from the last crash.
A worst case scenario would be if a left wipeout is combined with the far right winning Dáil representation for the first time or the mainstream right getting candidates elected on the basis of racist propaganda. This type of situation is posed not only in Ireland but internationally where far right demagogues like Trump and Bolsonaro are increasingly coming to power and stepping up capitalism’s assault on humanity and the planet. Rosa Luxemburg’s warning of “socialism or barbarism” has rarely seemed more appropriate.
Combined left challenge needed
A common left platform should address the most important issues facing working class and oppressed people by offering an inspiring programme of reforms that can be achieved through the power of popular mobilisation. As shown by the record of the radical left in the Dáil, in practical terms, there is already broad agreement on what those issues are and on many of the solutions needed. People Before Profit published an open letter over the summer calling for left cooperation in the next election, and we can also take inspiration from the programmes of Bernie Sanders in the US and Corbyn’s Labour in the UK.
Suggestions for such a programme could include:
A mass public programme of building public housing to expand access as a human rights and universal benefit
An emergency rent freeze and ban on economic evictions
A €15 an hour minimum wage
Repeal the 1990 Industrial Relations Act and introduce a Charter of Workers' Rights
Universal healthcare - a single tier Irish NHS with no user fees or insurance costs
Free public childcare and extended paid parental leave
Abolish third level fees and “voluntary contributions” and introduce living grants
A Green New Deal to combat climate change, including free and frequent public transport, retrofitting of homes and buildings, a massive shift to renewable energy, and a four-day work week with no carbon taxes and a just transition for workers
Take the insurance industry into democratic public ownership and run it on a non-profit basis to dramatically reduce living costs
Separate church and state in education and health
Increased supports to combat gender violence and sexual harassment
Full support for the rights of women, Travellers, ethnic minorities, immigrants and LGBTQ+ people and for a united front against racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia
A pledge to refuse lobbying by big business or landlords and to represent workers, women, and the oppressed instead
A final red line issue must be opposition to any coalition deals with the right wing parties as this would make achieving our common programme impossible. This appears to rule out any common platform with Sinn Féin, the Social Democrats, or the leadership of the Green Party, all of which have indicated their readiness to do deals with the right. The history of the Greens and Labour in government with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael illustrates the futility of this approach. It is encouraging to see more radical Greens like Saoirse McHugh speaking out against it. Instead our strategy must be to force through these changes through building powerful movements on the ground and supporting all reforms that benefit the shared interests of workers and oppressed groups.
To promote this platform, national media events could be held in the run up to and during the election campaign, possibly under a common banner and logo, and the common programme could be distributed with election material. We should seek endorsements from the trade unions, progressive social movements and NGOs, and supporters of the programme could canvass for candidates from different left parties and groups in different areas. RISE demonstrated this non-sectarian approach by canvassing for Fiona Ryan (Solidarity) and Kellie Sweeney (PBP) in the recent by-elections and for the independent left candidate, Caroline Wheeler, in the Westminster elections in the North.
Obviously, individual left groups, candidates and movements would remain free to put forward their own politics in addition to the agreed common platform. In the case of RISE, we believe a more radical socialist programme involving the replacement of capitalism is necessary to fully resolve the problems we face and transform all our lives for the better. Rather than just increasing taxes on big businesses and the rich, this would mean taking wealth and resources, including the major corporations, into democratic public ownership and planning the economy in order to fund the public services we need and improve living standards. We would continue to argue and organise for that while fighting for the reforms contained in the common platform.
This reflects a key part of RISE’s approach, which is to assist in rebuilding the left and workers’ organisations in a democratic, non-sectarian way while also putting forward a clear radical Marxist line of our own. We believe both aspects are crucial in the process of revolutionary transformation needed to successfully challenge and overthrow capitalism. Small revolutionary organisations on their own cannot be adequate to this monumental task, but must work with mass organisations and movements of the working class and oppressed groups to build our collective power to bring about the change we need.
This common approach can help maximise the Left’s support, in this particular case the return from our vote in the next election. This may prove especially crucial if our vote share is down relative to the last election as now appears likely. Unfortunately, the by-election results suggest that this election may have to be more defensive than offensive given the victories of Fianna Fáil on the one hand and Sinn Féin and the Greens on the other. Successfully defending the Left’s position in this way will be invaluable in the battles ahead against renewed austerity and far right attacks on the working class and oppressed.
At a minimum, the radical Left should aim to get all its sitting TDs who are standing again re-elected. These should be agreed as the starting point for a common slate of candidates, alongside candidates who missed out narrowly last time and are standing again, such as John Lyons of Independent Left. In general, there should be agreement to avoid standing multiple candidates if this could result in splitting the left vote and losing out on Dáil seats. In other situations, agreed candidates might also be preferable or transfer pacts could be agreed.
Of course it’s possible that a major change in the political situation such a renewed crisis of global capitalism and/or a major upturn in struggle could take place before the next elections. If that happens, a more offensive strategy could be devised and the agreed slate could be revised.
From our discussions with People Before Profit, there appears to be broad agreement on the points outlined above and the need for a combined left challenge. Together with People Before Profit, we intend to discuss with other left organisations and candidates over the next weeks. We welcome individual or collective discussions with all those interested on the genuine left, and think an open meeting should be organised as early as possible in 2020 to discuss agreement on a common programme, slate of candidates and some shared activities for the election.