Fergus Finlay: Labour's vision has never been to force a unity vote

An aspect of Ivana Bacik's speech at the Labour conference last weekend felt more like something Mary-Lou McDonald would say, writes Fergus Finlay 

Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik speaking during her speech at the Labour National Conference at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Limerick. Pictures: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland

Ivana, I know you’ll think it’s none of my business to be disagreeing with you. And maybe you’re right. I’ve always believed in — and tried to practice — the notion that political parties (and most other organisations too) don’t need a retired oul’ fella in the corner going on about how we used to do things in our day. I’ve been a member of the Labour Party all my adult life, but I’m not in charge of anything now.

That’s your responsibility. The day you were elected I wrote a long piece here wishing you well and expressing the belief that you could help the party recover more than most people.