Labour’s parliamentary party meets today to discuss their performance in the General Election as criticism of their failure to exploit Fine Gael’s collapse begins to mount.
The Irish Timestoday reports the party's former international secretary, Mr James Wrynn, has circulated a letter to Labour's general council and its TDs, senators and MEP saying a "golden opportunity" had been missed at the General Election.
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Mr Wrynn says Labour could have become the second largest party in the Dáil if it had attacked Fianna Fail over corruption and agreed a voting pact with Fine Gael.
"The Fine Gael collapse, even if not on the scale that transpired, was well signalled. Thus Labour should have obtained at least 30 seats, and, therefore, in many ways is also a very big loser in this election."
He also said there was considerable concern within the party over the Election strategy but the need to present a united front and a lack of courage among dissenters meant an alternative position was not voiced.
While Fine Gael lost 5.5 per cent of its vote and much of the media comment has focused on their loss of 23 seats, Labour, when the Democratic Left figures are included, lost 13.3 per cent of their vote compared to 1997. However they did not lose any seats.
After the General Election, some Labour figures privately conceded their core working-class vote was being eroded by Sinn Féin. It is also evident that a traditional protest and anti-Fianna Fáil vote went to independents and the Greens.
Speculation is mounting that a challenge to Mr Ruairi Quinn’s leadership is in the offing.
Today’s meeting is expected to end late this afternoon.