Democratic Left support for merger is overwhelmingly endorsed by delegates' vote

Democratic Left members endorsed the proposed merger of their party with Labour on Saturday by an overwhelming 171 votes to 21, after months of negotiations.

At a five-hour conference in Dublin just two out of 34 speakers in the debate opposed the plan, although some delegates said they had "come around" reluctantly to the proposal that had "horrified" them at first. One delegate said he was a "reluctant optimist".

There were few fiery speeches in the Shelbourne Hotel ballroom but Ms Patricia Condron from Maynooth described the merger as a "move too far". The Maynooth and Naas branches were opposed to the merger she said, and she decried the lack of "passion" in the party.

Ms Condron told the 250 people attending the special event that she worked in the inner city with disadvantaged people who faced the daily threat of baseball bats, knives and guns. "Democratic Left and Labour have left those people behind."

Democratic Left's chairman of South Dublin County Council, Mr Mick Mullane, reminded Ms Condron that "you can't eat passion". He highlighted previous political mistakes, including calling last year's general election too soon. And he noted hearing Eamon de Valera's name mentioned three times by other speakers, including the party leader.

The party could not blame de Valera and the oft repeated dictum that "Labour must wait", he said. "It's our own fault if we did not make progress." Mr Mullane, who supported the merger, rebuked the party's chief negotiator, Mr Eamon Gilmore, over his "digs at the church".

There were some good people working in the church, he said. The party didn't need to make enemies. People might say there was no use being a "cute hoor but it is better than being a stupid hoor", he said, suggesting that the party "take a leaf out of Fianna Fail's book".

Ms Catherine Murphy from Leixlip said she had reluctantly come around to the proposed new formation. Democratic Left had placed a stronger emphasis on ethics than the more pragmatic Labour Party and had a better urban base, while Labour had a developed rural constituency. Both organisations had their own emotional and political baggage, she said. There were no guarantees that the merger would work but "it deserves a real chance and that chance is enhanced with every additional member of Democratic Left who agrees with it".

Mr Brian Kenny did not think the merger would lead to a left-led government, "a completely fanciful notion". It would not be a leftwing party. It would merely move a couple of millimetres left. And in a swingeing criticism of the Labour leader, Mr Kenny said Mr Ruairi Quinn had no interest in socialism and only a superficial interest in left-wing politics.

They were talking about merging with a party that had failed the community for 25 years, he said. It was an accommodation that suited certain people and that was fine. What annoyed him was "dressing it up as something it is not". Mr Kenny said Labour was "not going to be changed by the introduction of a few Democratic Left TDs".

However, the party's Dublin South-West TD, Mr Pat Rabbitte, said Mr Kenny should not scorn the notion of a left-led government. "It is realistic to believe that there could be a left-led government in our lifetime," he said.

Addressing Mr Kenny's concerns and those of Ms Condron that the party had walked away from the disadvantaged, Mr Rabbitte said they were "falling into the trap of what the right would like".

"The right would love to ring-fence the left to the poverty constituency. They think it's a rather good idea for the poor to have a voice but not power." He said the left could not get real power by linking themselves only to the poor and marginalised.

"They don't come out to vote and if they do they don't elect sufficient people." That was the challenge for the new party - to attract back into politics "people who don't see the relevance between their condition in life and modern politics".

Mr Hugh McConville looked at the party's failure to "develop the potential of the membership and the people who voted for us". He added that "the people we want to influence see this as a cynical idea. We have failed to communicate. So two out of 10 on that one." He added: "In Democratic Left, the reality is we have lost more members than we have gained."

His sentiments were echoed by Mr Dermot Quigley of Bray who said that Democratic Left "started to atrophy not so long after birth".

The leaders had come to the conclusion that there was no future for the party and "that is why we are here today".

Mr Tony Heffernan from Dublin South, the party's press officer, said he had spent most of his adult life trying to create an alternative to Labour. It was not easy to put the past bitterness aside but there were many in the Labour Party who shared the same ideals. There was an opportunity now for real change "before the left has been permanently relegated to the position of also-rans".

The party's former MEP, Mr Des Geraghty, told delegates there had never been an advance without some casualties. He said every member of the SIPTU executive favoured the proposal, and the union would campaign to mobilise and politicise its 200,000 members.

Referring to anxieties about the lack of the word "socialism" in the new agreement he said that people should "not be afraid to call themselves a socialist or a radical. It is not the label that makes a difference but what we do."