Sir, – Your editorial on the Labour Party notes that Ivana Bacik's election as leader could boost the party's prospects "especially in middle-class constituencies in her native Dublin" ("The Irish Times View on the Labour Party – finding its place", March 28th). It may not have been your intention, but you have put your finger on the nub of the party's problem.
There are 26 Dáil constituencies where the Labour Party has had TDs elected at some point in the last 30 years, but has no seat at present. Just two of these could be described as being predominantly middle-class Dublin constituencies (Dublin Rathdown and Dún Laoghaire).
Of these constituencies, however, 14 are largely rural constituencies. In several of these, Labour held seats continuously for 60 years until their collapse at the 2016 election. The most stark example is Kerry, where Labour held at least one seat at every election from 1943 until 2002, in good times and in bad, and actually returned two seats in four elections from 1981 onwards. In 2020, however, the party couldn’t even field a candidate in Kerry, effectively writing off its chances there.
By ousting a leader who represented just such a constituency, Labour seems to want to give the impression that it is writing off its chances in all of these areas. If so, then the best they can hope for is for permanent status as a micro-party. At worst, they might find – as the Progressive Democrats did – that there is simply no market left among the electorate for what they are offering. – Yours, etc,
BARRY WALSH,
Clontarf,
Dublin 3.