Labour stances do party no favours

At its recent conference Labour announced it would not be re-opening the Vatican embassy until such time as ‘the Vatican fully co-operated with this State in investigating cases of child abuse’.

Out the other side of its confused mouth it announced it would support legislation for abortions on grounds wider than ‘the health or danger to life of the mother’.

Their stance underlines a major weakness of the ‘Left’ which does not seem to appreciate the extent to which it alienates a huge number of Irish voters who might agree with many of its social justice policies, but find they have to draw the line at the killing of unborn children for any reason beyond a threat to the life or health of the mother.

For much the same reason I eventually became disillusioned with the anti-war campaign here, many of whose members seem to see no apparent irony in working so hard and nobly to spare the lives of Iraqis from American bombs, while at the same time having a very liberal stance on abortion.

There is a real political vacuum here for voters like myself who hold all human life as sacred from conception to grave, but do not want to vote for the usual main parties as they trample on the ordinary working people of Ireland on behalf of the Troika.

Nick Folley

Carrigaline

Co Cork