Second SF Councillor gone

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Party lost battle for hearts and minds, says former SF Councillor

16/06/2009 - 16:15:54



The second Sinn Féin Councillor to quit the party within a week today
declared it had lost the battle for the hearts and minds of the working
class.

John Dwyer, who was re-elected to New Ross Urban District Council in
Wexford on a Sinn Féin ticket, accused the republican leadership of
building a party of faces rather than policies.

His resignation marks a triple-whammy for Gerry Adams, just a week after
veteran Dublin councillor Christy Burke stood down from the ranks and a
poor European election performance.

Mr Dwyer, a long-time trade union activist, said he left the party because
it was no longer the voice the Republic’s working-class heartlands.

“The Labour Party has won the battle for the hearts and minds in working
class areas,” he said.

The 47-year-old, who left the party before in the mid-1980s over a
disagreement with some members, said it was clear Sinn Féin was pushing a
doomed strategy of personality politicians.

In an attack on two of the party’s leading lights in the Republic, he said
failed MEP candidate Mary Lou McDonald had no track record in grass-roots
local politics.

“She is a very able politician but in terms of having a grasp of real-life
everyday problems, she’s not in a position to understand that sort of
thing,” he said.

Mr Dwyer also claimed rising Sinn Féin star Senator Pearse Doherty was
hand-picked by the leadership as a “safe pair of hands” and more suited to
a career in life-assurance than radical politics.

“Building a party of faces rather than policies is never a good thing,” he
said.

The now independent councillor claimed Sinn Féin had no policies on
fundamental working class issues like recent changes to rent allowances
for the low-paid and unemployed.

However, despite Mr Burke’s resignation and the defection of another
Wexford Sinn Féin councillor to Fianna Fail two years ago, Mr Dwyer
insisted there was not huge discontent within the party ranks.

“The majority of the people within the party are content, that’s what made
me leave,” he said.

“I think the party has the potential to grow more (in the Republic) but
they need to reach out to the wider left parties, to the Labour Party and
others, including the Socialist Party.”

Sinn Féin Louth TD Arthur Morgan said the party was disappointed with the
latest resignation.

“I’m disappointed as well that John has decided to hold on to a Sinn Fein
seat won on the back of a Sinn Féin ticket,” he said.

“He had the option just weeks ago of standing for election as an
independent but chose to stand as a Sinn Féin candidate.

“I think the decent thing now for John to do is to hand back the seat.”

Vowing to remain on as an independent, Mr Dwyer said he did not foresee
his rejoining the party in the event of a realignment of the left to
challenge the right-wing status quo.

“Sinn Féin don’t take kindly to people doing what I’ve just done,” he
said. “So I don’t see that being a possibility.”

Mr Burke resigned last week claiming he was given watered down support
during the Dublin Central by-election campaign with too little funding and
not enough posters.

GuanYin

Please add something to this.

Anyone can look at a news site. We expect discussion.

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sceptre

I think that four hours is a long enough wait for that.