Shortall against coalition with FF

LABOUR leadership candidate Roisin Shortall has ruled out coalition with Fianna Fáil if she gets the top job.

The Dublin North West TD said Labour has been highly critical of Fianna Fáil and it would be hypocritical of the party to enter coalition with them.

“We suffered badly after going into coalition with Fianna Fáil back in 1992 when we had been highly critical of them before that election and during the campaign,” Deputy Shortall said.

People want to know where they stand with Labour beforehand and not feel the party is prepared to go into coalition with anyone just for the sake of power, she added.

Asked if she would impose her anti-Fianna Fáil views on the party if elected leader, Deputy Shortall said: “No, I would respect the democratic decision of the party if it was different to my views.”

Deputy Shortall is the third Labour deputy to enter the leadership race; deputies Brendan Howlin and Pat Rabbitte have already been nominated for the post.

Asked if she thought it was a mistake for Labour not to enter a coalition pact with Fine Gael before the last election, Deputy Shortall said: “Yes, it just created the impression that we were up for grabs and our supporters just did not know what they would get by voting for us.”

The deputy said she has entered the leadership race because she believes the Labour Party needs a radical new direction to re-establish it as a strong distinctive force. “With this leadership contest, we now have an opportunity to reaffirm the traditional Labour values of honesty and fairness, and as Labour leader I would uphold these core values,” Deputy Shortall said.

The party’s membership has halved in the past 10 years and Deputy Shortall said she wants to double it over the next five years.

At the time of going to press, Pat Rabbitte was the favourite with the bookies at 6/5 on; Brendan Howlin is second favourite at 11/8 and Roisin Shortall is the outsider at 20/1.