Elaine Loughlin: Drowning in the polls but Labour in buoyant mood
Labour Party leader Alan Kelly makes his keynote address to the party's annual conference at the Mansion House in Dublin. Picture: Damien Storan
Armed with a new logo, a new website, and a newish leader, Labour party members were in buoyant mood at their conference over the weekend.
But the poll ratings have failed to lift with their own growing tide of confidence, the latest one published on Sunday puts them on just 3%.
Despite this, the party seems to be in a good headspace.
Last year's leadership battle could have caused bitterness and division, but members of the parliamentary party are keen to stress that there is no animosity between Alan Kelly and Aodhán Ó Ríordáin in contrast to the tensions that festered between Brendan Howlin and Joan Burton.
"There are times when I have observed them together and they looked like the chuckle brothers," said Cork East TD Sean Sherlock of the healthy working relationship Mr Kelly and Mr Ó Ríordáin have built in the current Dáil.
"When you are not sitting around a table with Joan and Brendan backbiting at each other, it makes things a lot easier," said another member.
The election of Ivana Bacik in the recent by-election has been seen as a significant turning point and has rejuvenated members.
"I think there is a sense of renewal, there is a sense of optimism, the party was lifted by Ivana's election, it cannot be underestimated how much of a boost for the party it was," said Cork City local area representative Peter Horgan.
"There were people stopping me in the street in Cork saying 'fantastic work in the byelection', all of a sudden there was a sea change. But it has been a slow march and the optimism around the party has grown because of the hard work put in by people."
The election of Ms Bacik also means the party once again has female representation in the Dáil, which has added an extra dimension.
"What held Labour back at the start of this Dáil was we had no female voice; you had Holly [Cairns] standing up every week talking about maternity restrictions and while Alan also raised those issues, it's not the same when a man gets up. That has changed since we got Ivana elected," said one grassroots member.
Speaking before the conference kicked off on Friday night, Mr Kelly said: “Coming out of the pandemic into a post-Covid Ireland, there can be no going back to normal. It’s not just about building back better; it’s about building back fairer."
While he was referring to the significant shift in policy required across health, climate action, housing, and workers' rights, Mr Kelly could easily have been speaking about his own party.
Labour must build on the momentum gained by the success of Ms Bacik if it is ever to emerge from its stagnation in the polls and gain back seats come election time.
Its rebrand, which coincided with the conference, is reflective of a more "traditional Labour" which according to former party TD Joanna Tuffy is a "positive thing".
Returning to the Starry Plough, Mr Kelly's party is harking back to the Labour of James Connolly and Big Jim Larkin, as it tries to push the principles that have guided it for over a century.
"You have to be very clear on what your identity is, it's been a very unstable time in politics over the past decade and I think Labour suffered in terms of its identity," said Ms Tuffy.
When it comes to policy, this new identity centres around what Mr Kelly called the "new deal" for people based on "a more caring and kinder politics".
"Our country is at a crossroads and there can be no going back.
“That means a new deal for working people, a new deal for secure and affordable housing, a new deal that recognises the challenge of the 21st century," he said.
Whether this new identity which is rooted in party tradition will be enough to entice voters at the next general election remains to be seen.
