Burton wins deputy leader position with 60% turnout
The Dublin West TD was elected with 1,470 first preference votes, 204 votes ahead of Limerick East’s Jan O’Sullivan.
However, the 59.3% voter turnout compares dismally with the 88.2% turnout in the leadership contest in 2002 that saw Pat Rabbitte elected as leader and Liz Mc Manus as deputy leader.
Following the counting of ballots in the Labour Party’s headquarters yesterday evening, Ms Burton said the appetite for Labour Party politics remains strong.
She said the party must assert its position as a left wing party that prioritises social provision and a strong economy.
“There are constituencies for the Labour Party where we need to regain seats we lost. We need to regain them,” she said.
Counties Carlow, Kilkenny and Dublin North were signalled for particular attention.
“I would like to assist Eamon Gilmore in putting the party on a journey of renewal and policy reform,” she said.
“We must seek to make life better for families throughout the country.
“We need a good society as well as a strong economy.”
Defeated candidate Jan O’Sullivan, who had the backing of party heavyweights such as Willie Penrose, Emmet Stagg and Michael D Higgins, said she was disappointed not to have been elected. She said the Labour Party needed to feed into the “change of attitude” among the public since the general election in May.
With the election of a deputy leader, Eamon Gilmore formally became leader of the party from midnight last night.
He had held the title of “leader elect” since the close of nominations for the leadership last month.
Part of yesterday’s low turnout may be attributed to the failure of 20% of the party’s members to pay their membership fees in May of this year.
About 1,500 members, including the party’s former leader Dick Spring, were informed over the last number of weeks that they were unable to vote having failed to pay the required €15 fee.
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