Anti-Immigrant Candidates

by Michael Ronan O'Connell - Socialist Workers Party Thu May 23, 2002 11:24 michaeloconnell2001 at yahoo dot com

Good report. Pity they beat us (SWP) in a fair few constituencies including my own in Cork and ugly to see Aine Ni Chonaill just beat us......but we are growing and hopefully we and others will stamp out this shite over the next 5 years.

Michael.

by C. Thu May 23, 2002 12:27

I was down at the count for a while and noticed a lot of Aengus O'Snodaighs votes had Aine ni Chonaill at 2 / 3 / 4. (not scientific - just watching the count for a while).

This seems to be borne out by the 20% transfer to SF from her votes.

This is not bashing SF (I've never met a racist member of SF and know a few) - more just wondering.

I don't suppose there are any figures for SF transfers going to a racist candidate? (or even tally figures?)

by george w Thu May 23, 2002 12:49

well SF are a fascist party, so it shouldn't surprise anyone that their members also like the Immigration Control Platform.

by PYM UNFORTUNATE Thu May 23, 2002 17:19

i didnt know there was a political party formed to stop irish people immigrating to the UK AND USA. watever will we see next. U KNOW ZE FUHRER HAZ ONLY ONE BALL AND IZ A BIG MUMMIES BOY.

by buachaill og Thu May 23, 2002 21:53

You can't really extrapolate from Ní Chonaill's transfers to Sinn Féin what Sinn Féin transfers to Ní Chonaill may have been. A case in point is the transfer pattern between SF and Green candidates. SF transfers in all constituencies where the occasion arose were very favourable to Green candidates. However, Green transfers weren't particularly favourable to SF.

I think the presence of SF may well capture an alienated anti-establishment vote some of which would otherwise perhaps be willing to go to an anti-immigrant candidate. That would pobviously be consistent with a proportoin of SF no. 1 voters giving Ní Chonaill a preference further down. So perhaps we should be grateful to the Sinners! After all, Áine Ní Chonaill herself accused SF of having a policy of 'Brits out, Nigerians in'...

by Limerick1919 Thu May 23, 2002 23:07 limerick1919 at hotmail dot com

Deal in facts on important issues.

Fact 1: 19 of Brid Smith SWP transfers went directly to Ni Chonail....What is that about.... a women's vote?

In the same constituency Worrkers party candidates gave her over 23

Fact 2: When Ni Chonails 900 + votes were distributed over 140 went to the two labour candidates.

Maybe the slightly higher transfer to Sinn Fein is a gaeilge thing! O Snodaigh and Ni Chonail were the only two irish names on paper. I'm actually being serious here when you are dealing in small numbers anything is possible.

In Cork North Central Mick Barry of Socialist Party stood. He was eliminated with just over 1000 votes 100 of these went to O' Callaghan and over 50 went to O' Flynn !!! now explain that

Anyone wanting a comprehensive transfer breakdown check rte election site

www.rte.ie

by C. Fri May 24, 2002 09:43

Comments above answer my question.

by Alban Tobin Sat May 25, 2002 01:37

The pitiful showing of Swp, while Sinn Fein, the party of James Connolly, made a significant breakthrough shows the stupidity of the 'theory' which the Swp believes in. Their neglect of Connolly while allowing a few third-rate English academics to develop their theoretical position shows that their minds have been colonized, and that they richly deserve to be where they now are-the dustbin of history. But no doubt their leader, Eamonn McCann, will continue his attacks on Sinn Fein in the capitalist press.

by Accuracy Please Sun May 26, 2002 15:52

Sinn Fein is not the party of James Connolly. Since SF insists on being the oldest, etc. political party in Ireland it is worth noting that Connolly was extremely critical of Sinn Fein in his time. In fact the Labour Party was set up by Connolly, so it has a better claim to direct succession.
I'm not in any party, by the way. But please don't try to pull fast ones like that. Don't insult peoples' intelligence.

by Badman Sun May 26, 2002 18:53

So if Sinn Fein is the party of Connolly, then I imagine that Gerry's visit to the WEF in New York was drawing on Connolly's classic pamphlet "Attracting multinational investment by offering low wages, low taxes and anti-union clauses." I think not. Even in Connolly's day Sinn Fein was a party of the nationalist bourgeouis, never a socialist party (refer to what Pearse had to say about the 1913 lockout). Furthermore it is simply crass racism to think that the crapness of the SWP's politics is due to the fact that they are somehow 'English' ideas. Ideas have no country and the Irish are good enough at thinking up crap ideas, for example thinking that Sinn Fein is a socialist party while Gerry sips champers at the WEF and 40,000 cops batter and arrest any normal people who try to get anywhere close to the venue.

Connolly and Adams may both have been born on the same sodden, windswept lump of muck on the edge of the Atlantic, but that's about all they have in common.

by Finghin - Socialist Youth Mon May 27, 2002 16:52

You will always get some transfers going to candidates that are totally opposed to the eliminated candidate, I was at the count in Dublin South and seeing how some people transfered it was amazing.
However there are certain trends that can be taken from transfer tallies. To get a true picture you'd have to look at how SF transfered elsewhere in the country, I do suspect that a sizable proportion of SF votes go to racist candidates. SF are a nationalist party and despite what they say many of their supporters and activists would have anti immigration sentiments.