Colm Keaveney — ‘no question’ of forming a breakaway left-wing party

By TONY GALVIN MAVERICK East Galway TD and embattled Labour Party Chairman Colm Keaveney has told The Tuam Herald that there is no question of him breaking away officially with other Labour dissidents and forming a new left-wing party. He made his comments on foot of a story which appeared on the front page of Mondayâ€â„¢s Irish Daily Mail under the heading, â€Å“Gang of Four want to form â€Ëœrealâ€â„¢ Labourâ€Â. Keaveney and ex-minister Róisín Shorthall are at the centre of speculation that they are about to set up a new group that will be seeking full party rights under the Dáil system. Deputy Keaveney confirmed that he and his fellow dissidents, including TDs Tommy Broughan and Patrick Nulty, are in negotiation with the whipâ€â„¢s office and the Ceann Comhairle to secure speaking rights, but he is emphatic that this is not the first step towards setting up a new party.[private] The speculation in political circles is that wavering Labour backbenchers, stung by the partyâ€â„¢s increasing unpopularity in the polls and faced with the prospect of three more tough budgets ahead, might feel more comfortable in a new entity that is not associated with the imposition of austerity measures. However, the speculation in the same Daily Mail story that Galway West TD Noel Grealish might be interested in joining the new party has damaged the credibility of the story. When contacted on Monday by The Tuam Herald, Deputy Grealishâ€â„¢s reply was unprintable, but suffice to say he confirmed that he has no intention of doing any such thing. When the question of whether he is involved in a heave against his party leader, Eamon Gilmore, was put to Deputy Keaveney, he responded with an emphatic â€Å“no commentâ€Â. When pressed on whether he would like to see a change in Labour leadership, he declined to comment. He said that talk of a leadership heave was â€Å“prematureâ€Â and he is adamant that he doesnâ€â„¢t have any current ambitions in this regard. â€Å“As far as national politics is concerned, Iâ€â„¢m still at the apprenticeship stage,â€Â he said but added, â€Å“who knows what tomorrow will bring?â€Â He also insists he is not going to be used as a â€Å“proxyâ€Â leadership candidate to test the waters for someone else, presumably a reference to Joan Burtonâ€â„¢s rumoured leadership ambitions. Not a Trojan horse â€Å“I know there is widespread speculation, but I canâ€â„¢t control speculation. Iâ€â„¢m not a Trojan horse; Iâ€â„¢ve no interest in destabilising Labour. I see myself as doing my bit to foster the changes needed to progress the party.â€Â He insists that the media is missing the real story behind the dissidents falling out with labour leadership: â€Å“Personalities are not the story. Why we have to do it is.â€Â Deputy Keaveney said his new status as an Independent within the Labour family gives him greater scope to speak his mind and represent the interests of his constituents as he sees fit. His constituency organisation is full-square behind him and he has received nothing but encouragement and support from the public in Galway East in relation to his deciding to vote against his own Government on the social welfare component of the 2013 Budget. He said that in his view the key problem for Labour is trying to match the expectations generated by its election promises two years ago with the reality of the current economic situation. â€Å“The Government attempt to put a happy-clappy spin on everything is just not washing with a well-informed and increasingly more frustrated public. Everything canâ€â„¢t be spinned away. At some stage reality will have to be faced and then maybe weâ€â„¢ll turn a corner and get on the road to recovery,â€Â he said. The prospect of the emergence of extreme right- and left-wing parties is something which concerns him and this route, he says, is being paved by the indecision and spin of the Government. For the moment, he says he is content to focus on his role as a constituency TD, and he looks to the future for his party, which this year is celebrating its 101st year, the anniversary of the great Dublin lockout. Heâ€â„¢s proud of Labourâ€â„¢s tradition and is adamant that he is not being mischievous or stirring dissent within the ranks. For the moment he feels liberated from the constraints of the party whip, even though he retains his position as party chairman, â€Å“Iâ€â„¢m not ashamed of my stance. Iâ€â„¢m proud of it and have moved on. The chairman is the trustee of the grassroots, not the puppet of the leadership. This may not sit well with some, but Iâ€â„¢m not that worried about that. I know some skilled and very experienced political operators have the knives out for me, but all I can do when I meet them in the corridors of Leinster House or at party meetings is to smile and get on with it. Itâ€â„¢s a long road that has no turning,â€Â he concluded.[/private]