Labour party preparing to risk extinction for greater good

The Labour Party goes into this election fighting for survival, to be relevant, and to recast its identity after being tied to Fine Gael’s policies for the last five years.

Long gone are the thundering speeches of former leader Eamon Gilmore, who before the last general election even predicted Labour could win up to 50 Dáil seats.

Instead, Tánaiste Joan Burton is facing into one of the most difficult periods for the party as leader, with predictions that Labour will lose half its seats.