Nolan concedes Galway Labour crisis after poll disaster

Galway West TD, Derek Nolan has conceded the Labour Party is in “crisis”, and has lost its connection with grassroots members.

Deputy Nolan made the comments at the weekend as he threw his weight behind the candidacy of Alex White as leader of the Labour Party.

Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, is the favourite to succeed Galway native Eamon Gilmore, who will step down as leader following the party’s disastrous local and European elections.

The party was wiped-out on many local authorities across the country, and returned no MEPs.

In Galway City Council, Labour lost three of its seats going from the largest party with five members, to being the smallest, with just two, one less than Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin and two less than Fine Gael.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Drivetime programme, shortly after Deputy White had declared his intention to contest the leadership of the party, Deputy Nolan said Labour needed to “articulates its own identity” as distinct from their coalition partners in Fine Gael.

He said Deputy White was the best man to do that, and to rebuild Labour.

“We need to renew our sense of purpose in Government . . . We need to articulate who we are but also provide a vision for where we want this country to go,” he said.

See full story in this week’s Sentinel.