Lucinda Creighton to run as Reform candidate

Rebel ex-minister Lucinda Creighton has said for the first time that she expects to fight the next election under the Reform Alliance banner.

While claiming the breakaway grouping’s debut conference in the RDS today is not the launch pad for a new party, the former Europe minister’s comments are set to enflame suspicion among former Fine Gael colleagues about her ultimate ambitions.

Asked if she would campaign to hold her Dublin seat at the next general election as a Reform Alliance candidate, Ms Creighton said: “I think that’s quite likely, I don’t know if it will be anything more than a banner, but that’s how we have been working together.”