Labour Coalition
Encyclopedia
The Labour Coalition was an electoral coalition in Northern Ireland
of left wing and labour
groups, formed to stand in the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum
elections. The coalition had the support of the Labour Party of Northern Ireland
, Irish Militant Labour
controlled Labour and Trade Union Group and the Newtownabbey Labour Party
, in addition to several individuals associated with the British and Irish Communist Organisation
among others.
The coalition gained only 6,425 votes (0.85% of the total). As the tenth most successful grouping in the election, it was entitled to two top-up seats on the Forum, for which it nominated Malachi Curran
and Hugh Casey
, former Social Democratic and Labour Party
councillors. Other people on its list included Mark Langhammer
and Peter Hadden
.
The group was marked by frequent infighting and turmoil and disintegrated shortly after the election. Curran ran under the Labour Party of Northern Ireland
banner but failed to retain his seats.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
of left wing and labour
Labour movement
The term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
groups, formed to stand in the 1996 Northern Ireland Forum
Northern Ireland Forum
The Northern Ireland Forum was a body set up in 1996 as part of a process of negotiations that eventually led to the Belfast Agreement in 1998....
elections. The coalition had the support of the Labour Party of Northern Ireland
Labour Party of Northern Ireland
The Labour Party of Northern Ireland is a political party in Northern Ireland, formed in 1985 by a group around Paddy Devlin, a former Social Democratic and Labour Party councillor and Northern Ireland Assembly member, and Billy Blease, a member of the British House of Lords.-Progress:In 1987, the...
, Irish Militant Labour
Irish Militant Labour
Militant Labour was the name adopted by the Militant Tendency of the Irish Labour Party after its expulsion in 1989. The name Militant Labour was used by other sections of the Committee for a Workers' International at the time. Militant Labour changed its name in 1996 to the Socialist Party...
controlled Labour and Trade Union Group and the Newtownabbey Labour Party
Newtownabbey Labour Party
The Newtownabbey Labour Party is a minor political party based in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland.The party originated as the Newtownabbey branch of the Northern Ireland Labour Party. It left its parent organisation in the 1970s...
, in addition to several individuals associated with the British and Irish Communist Organisation
British and Irish Communist Organisation
The British and Irish Communist Organisation was a small but highly influential group based in London, Belfast, Cork, and Dublin. Its leader was Brendan Clifford. The group produced a great number of pamphlets, and many regular publications including, The Irish Communist and Workers Weekly in...
among others.
The coalition gained only 6,425 votes (0.85% of the total). As the tenth most successful grouping in the election, it was entitled to two top-up seats on the Forum, for which it nominated Malachi Curran
Malachi Curran
Malachi Curran is a politician in Northern Ireland.Curran was elected to Down District Council in 1993 for the Social Democratic and Labour Party . He resigned from the SDLP to stand as a Labour Coalition candidate for the Northern Ireland Forum in 1996...
and Hugh Casey
Hugh Casey (politician)
Hugh Casey is a former politician in Northern Ireland.Casey worked as a community project manager in Lurgan before being elected to Craigavon Borough Council as a Social Democratic and Labour Party councillor in 1989. In 1994, he left the SDLP, after accepting an MBE, claiming that some in the...
, former Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
councillors. Other people on its list included Mark Langhammer
Mark Langhammer
Mark Langhammer is a trade unionist, employed as Director of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers and elected onto the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in 2008, being re-elected in 2010...
and Peter Hadden
Peter Hadden
Peter Hadden was a leading member of the Socialist Party in Northern Ireland.Born in Strabane, Hadden studied at the University of Sussex, where he joined the Trotskyist Militant Tendency...
.
The group was marked by frequent infighting and turmoil and disintegrated shortly after the election. Curran ran under the Labour Party of Northern Ireland
Labour Party of Northern Ireland
The Labour Party of Northern Ireland is a political party in Northern Ireland, formed in 1985 by a group around Paddy Devlin, a former Social Democratic and Labour Party councillor and Northern Ireland Assembly member, and Billy Blease, a member of the British House of Lords.-Progress:In 1987, the...
banner but failed to retain his seats.
External links
- http://www.socialistdemocracy.org/NewWorkersParty/NewWorkersPartyChapter3.htmlLeft Unity in Ireland, Socialist DemocracySocialist Democracy (Ireland)Socialist Democracy is the successor to People's Democracy, a left wing current which emerged in Belfast in 1968 during the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. During the 1970s it evolved towards Trotskyist positions and, by merging with the Dublin-based Movement for a Socialist Republic,...
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