Breaking news: Dublin South West TD Eamonn Maloney has resigned from the Labour Party.
By Mary Dennehy
DUBLIN South West TD Eamonn Maloney is this afternoon resigning from the Labour Party, and will contest the General Election as an Independent candidate.
The Echo has learned that a closed meeting is currently taking place between Deputy Maloney and a number of local Labour Party members, who are also leaving the party to support Deputy Maloney on his Independent trail.
A split in party tactics saw the veteran politician, and 30 year Labour Party member, unexpectedly withdraw his name from the General Election race in July – due to his opinion that the party should only run one candidate in Dublin South West, not two.
Speaking to The Echo at the time, Deputy Maloney stressed that it was always his intention to run in the General Election for the Labour Party.
However, after spending weeks arguing that the party should run only one candidate, he believed that it would have been “a contradiction”on his part to support Labour’s chosen two candidate strategy and run as a team of two.
According to party insiders, the argument over how many candidates to run in Dublin South West devided members at the time, with many believing it was a risk splitting the Labour vote.
Speaking with The Echo this weekend, Deputy Maloney revealed that he has decided to resign from the Labour Party and will contest the General Election as an Independent candidate.
He told The Echo: “This was a very hard decision for me to make, I have been a member of the Labour Party for 30 years and my family has a very strong, loyal history with the party.
“Over the past four years the Labour Party has had to make some difficult decisions.
“Going into coalition was the right thing to do, we went in to do a particular job – I voted to go into coalition.
“Many of the Labour politicians genuinely wanted to help move the country to an improve situation, and decisions were made that weren’t popular but had to be made.”
When asked if his withdrawal from Labour’s selection convention in July was a deliberate decision to pave the way for his Independent candidancy, Deputy Maloney said: “No, this was never my intention.
“In July, I expressed the view to the party that running two candidates in the forthcoming General Election would result in the Labour Party having no TD in Dublin South West…and I withdrew my nomination from the party’s selection convention when the party decided to adopt a two candidate strategy.”
He added: “Since then I have received a lot of support from local people and local party members, some who have longer ties to the party than me, and it is based on this support that I have decided to run as an Independent.
“I was ignored by the party after I withdrew my nomination, I wasn’t valuable anymore and all because I voiced my opinion.
“I have always been a party person and never thought that I would be in this place and putting myself forward as an Independent.”
He concluded: “I’d like to think that I have a reputation of working in the community and standing up for the community and I am prepared to say things that need to be said.
“I will serve out my term as an Independent TD, representing the constituents in Dublin South West, and will continue to campaign on the important social issues that affect people’s everyday life.”
Labour Party councillors Mick Duff and Pamela Kearns are running for Labour in Dublin South West and will have their sights set firmly on winning back one or both of the two Labour seats that were held by Pat Rabitte TD, who earlier this year announced his intention not to run in the General Election, and Deputy Maloney.
For more on this breaking story and reaction from the Labour Party see Thursday’s edition.
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