Labour Party conference: A challenge for all progressives

The Labour conference did not, naturally, have the gala atmosphere of a party in government but it did underline the party’s commitment to progressive ideals.

Indeed, it is an irony of Irish political life that as the electorate becomes ever more progressive — abortion, marriage equality, blasphemy, etc — the party that for so long was the only one at ease with society-changing ideas beyond the conservative consensus languishes on the margins of political relevance. The latest opinion poll put the party on 4%, a full 20 percentage points behind Sinn Féin.