Rabbitte "not fit" to be Labour leader, says local Labour councillor

by Ray - LP Thu Aug 31, 2006 14:08

(Front Page Today's Sligo Champion) Looks like Bree is making his exit from the Labour Party, odds on that he runs as an Independant in the next GE.....

Sligo councillor Declan Bree’s days in the Labour Party appear to be numbered following an stinging attack on leader Pat Rabbitte on the eve of his visit to Sligo tomorrow.

by Paul Deering

Already snubbed as a candidate in next year’s General Election, Clr. Bree told The Sligo Champion that he had no intention of meeting or welcoming Mr. Rabbitte to Sligo and claimed the Dublin South West T.D. wasn’t fit to be party leader.

Councillor Bree, whose Independent Socialist Party merged with the Labour Party in 1991, said that given the allegations Mr Rabbitte made about him last September on the issue of Traveller accommodation he had no intention of making the party leader feel welcome in Sligo.

Boiling point

Divisions in the party locally now appear to have reached boiling point and Councillor Bree, who secured a Dail seat in 1992 for the Labour Party but who failed to be re-elected in 1997, is unlikely to be allowed remain in the party following this latest outburst at Mr. Rabbitte.

Clr. Bree claimed Mr. Rabbitte chose to make unfounded allegations against him in a letter published in the “Irish Times” on the 6th of September last which stated that Sligo’s longest serving councillor used his position as Mayor to stop a Traveller accommodation site going into his own electoral ward and sought to put it into the ward of a colleague that already had three such sites.

The contents of Mr. Rabbitte’s letter were described as “particularly shocking and unacceptable” by Clr. Bree but a formal complaint on the matter was dismissed by the Labour Party which has selected Clr. Jim McGarry, who joined the party in 2003, as its General Election candidate.

Clr. Bree said the minute book of the Borough Council for February 2005 will confirm that the only proposal in regard to his ward, the East Ward, was an amendment to the Traveller Accommodation Programme to the effect that a location be sought in the ward for the provision of apartments for newly wed young travellers.

“The minutes will confirm that I, as Mayor of Sligo, and the other councillors, supported the said amendment,” said Councillor Bree.

Allegation

He stressed that Mr Rabbitte’s claim that the office of the Mayor of Sligo was abused for personal or political advantage was an allegation he could not ignore. “In all my years as a political activist and in my 32 years as an elected representative I am proud of the fact, and the record will show, that I have always striven to protect the rights of minorities, whether immigrants, gays or travellers.

“Never during my 12-month period in office, did any citizen of Sligo or any elected representative suggest that I ever abused my position as Mayor of Sligo. Not one citizen or elected representative ever alleged that I used my position as Mayor of Sligo to stop an accommodation site going into my own electoral ward and sought to put in into the ward of a colleague.

“I found it incredulous that seven months after the Borough Council had dealt with the issue of the Traveller Accommodation Programme that Mr Rabbitte would make such allegations.

“Pat Rabbitte’s outrageous attack on me cannot be ignored. Never in the history of the Labour Party has a Party leader attempted to vilify and smear a Labour Party colleague in such a manner.

“Given Mr Rabbitte’s record on this issue and numerous other matters I believe he is not fit to be a party leader,” claimed Councillor Bree.

by Bernie R Thu Aug 31, 2006 17:46

Fair play to bree for having the balls and the neck to take on Rabbite. Bree is saying what many Labour Party members are thinking.

He know that Rabbite and the party establishment would be terrified of kicking him out or taking him to task for publicly criticising the leader. The last time they brought him before a complaints tribunal he put them on trial and made their lives a misery.

by B. S. Thu Aug 31, 2006 18:45

By Mick Hall
Daily Ireland

Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte is expected to receive a cool reception from members of his own party today when he visits the Sligo-Leitrim constituency.
Mr Rabbitte is scheduled to meet several community and voluntary groups in Collooney, Coolaney, Manorhamilton and Sligo town.

He is to be accompanied by Jimmy McGarry, the Labour Party’s official Leinster House election candidate for the new Sligo-North Leitrim constituency. A civic reception is to be held for Mr Rabbitte in Sligo County Hall at 7.30pm.

The pre-election walkabout is being given the cold shoulder by a significant number of Labour Party activists allied to the local councillor Declan Bree, a former TD.
Mr Bree has clashed with his leader over the party’s pre-election pact with Fine Gael, its support for the European Union consitution and over a letter published by Mr Rabbitte in a newspaper in September last year.

Mr Rabbitte used the paper to accuse Mr Bree of “abusing his position as mayor of Sligo” by trying to relocate Sligo’s Traveller accommodation unit from his own electoral ward to that of a party colleague.

There is speculation that Mr Bree will stand as an independent candidate in the general election expected next year.

Councillor Bree refused to be nominated to stand in next year’s election as long as Pat Rabbitte remained party leader.

Yesterday, Mr Bree told Daily Ireland he would not be welcoming Mr Rabbitte to Sligo today. “Given the outrageous allegations Mr Rabbitte made about me, I have no intention of making him feel welcome in Sligo,” he said.

“It is almost 12 months since he made the allegations and, to date, he has failed to retract them and apologise.

“Never in the history of the Labour Party has a party leader attempted to vilify and smear a Labour Party colleague in such a manner.

“Can you imagine Enda Kenny, Bertie Ahern, Gerry Adams or any other party leader behaving in such a manner? Given Mr Rabbitte’s record on this issue and numerous other matters, I believe he is not fit to be a party leader.”

A Labour Party spokesman told Daily Ireland yesterday that Mr Rabbitte would not try to heal local divisions by issuing an apology.

“There is no issue here. Declan Bree is a member of the party and is entitled to his views. This visit is about focusing our energies nationally and locally to get Jimmy McGarry elected. He is the official candidate and enjoys the full support of the local party organisation,” the spokesman said.

Mr McGarry, a former Fine Gael mayor, joined the Labour Party in 2005. This caused serious divisions among local party activists.

He was chosen to stand as an official election candidate by a small margin of votes over two other party members at a selection convention last November.

The convention unanimously passed a motion, proposed by Gabriel McSharry, calling on the Labour Party electoral strategy committee to add an additional candidate from Leitrim.

In March, Mr McSharry resigned from the party, along with nearly all the members of his local north Leitrim Labour Party branch after Labour head office refused to add a second, Leitrim-based candidate.

by Anon. Thu Aug 31, 2006 22:18

If you are so pissed off why not leave & Run on a real left-wing programme (if you are real left-wingers?). Letters to the Irish Times does not constitute "reclaiming" Labour. Leave. Get out of Labour. Don't waste your time supporting Enda Kenny for Taoiseach.

by cool j Thu Aug 31, 2006 22:42

I think Rabitte's backing of Kenny can only end in tears. FG are probably the most right-wing party in the dail after the PD's. Can see alot a tensions in any coalition government between the 2, with alot of discontent from Labour members over many FG policies which in the main follow PD thinking. Majour diffrences are apparent between the 2 parties over issues such as Aerlingus privitisation, Privtisation of Public services, M3 at Tara, Corrib gas Terminal issue etc. Rabitte needs to wake up to these facts!!!!!!!

by Elmer Fudd Fri Sep 01, 2006 11:58

"Rabitte needs to wake up to these facts!!!!!!!"

He's wide awake. It must be you and others who are asleep. Rabbitte doesn't have any problems with your concerns. And he has a compliant union movement who really haven't stepped up to the mark on any of those concerns. They are against privatisation alright in the same way they were against service charges. Won't be long until they are helping to implement it. Just you wait and see.

by Yosemite Sam Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:03

Elmer, ordinary union members are voting for Towards 2016. Is being carried by alarming majorities in most unions. It looks as if we'll have to follow Brecht's advice and elect a new working class.

by Elmer Fudd Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:15

It may be true but there are a large number of unions out there who aren't voting for 2016. The real travesty is that SIPTU mobilsed thousands of members over the Irish Ferries debacle and then couldn't wait to get back to cosying around the table with the supporters of privatisation. The march alone showed that with the proper leadership the membership are prepared to step up to the mark. Electoral results show this as well. The FF/FG vote has been in decline for some time. If Labour in tandem with the unions articulated and backed up a stand against the needless sell off of Aer Lingus, do you not think it would find a resonance on a par with the Irish Ferries issue. Why do you think they are so reticent? As for your Brecht reference, do you really think that the vote for Towards 2016 was preceded by a proper democratic debate?

by Yosemite Sam Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:25

"As for your Brecht reference, do you really think that the vote for Towards 2016 was preceded by a proper democratic debate?"

I am not aware of any Stasi forces preventing that debate from taking place. I do know that the left was divided in its response to Towards 2016 and was unable to build a united campaign against. I think it would be fair to say that as far as your average TU member was concerned there was no campaign for a No vote.

You cant blame that on the TU Burocracy. You are responsible, I am responsible. Lets learn from our mistakes.

by pat Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:57

Bree is too left for SF, doubt they would have him or even that he would join them.... as the Provos are closer to FF from Bree point of view i'd say.

It looks like that he might move to the Communist Party, if you look at their website the have a recent statement he made on their main page, also he youth section has a link to his personal website????

http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/c-bree.html

http://www.communistpartyofireland.ie/cym/index.html

by Elmer Fudd Fri Sep 01, 2006 13:01

"I am not aware of any Stasi forces preventing that debate from taking place."

That's right I remember the alternative argument in Liberty, forget what page it was on. With at least 1 in 4 having voting against the last few agreements, SIPTU didn't the Stasi to limit debate. It's even compulsory on the state now to give the other side of the argument.
I agree with you though that people need to learn from mistakes although it would seem that the forces that did come together to oppose the last deal are compounding them.

by cropbeye - CAZ & Aubane Fri Sep 01, 2006 17:58 cropbeye at yahoo dot com Cork

The rot set in when you wellcommed in

the Stickies as members guys!

by kintama Sat Sep 02, 2006 02:23

Does anyone have any information on how the visit went?

by cool j Sat Sep 02, 2006 22:47

I see Rabitte and Kenny are having another show of solidarity to upstage FF's "think in" (possible oxymoron there) next week in Westport - says it all about the sorry state of mainstream Irish politics ie No clue and no alternatives!!!

by K. O'B Sun Sep 03, 2006 18:36

I am told that the party membership and officers in Sligo-Leitrim were not informed of Rabbittes visit. I hear that only once local member accompanied Rabbitte on his visit to Sligo general hospital