People Before Profit Alliance

People Before Profit Alliance
Leader	Collective Leadership
Founded	October 2005
Headquarters	4 Meadow View, Sarsfield Road, Dublin 10
Ideology	Democratic socialism[1] Trotskyism[2] United Ireland[3] Euroscepticism[4]
Political position	Left-wing to Far-left[5]
National affiliation	United Left Alliance (pre-2013) Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit (2015–present)
European affiliation	European Anti-Capitalist Left
Colours	Maroon & Green
Dáil Éireann	3 / 158
Northern Ireland Assembly	2 / 108
Local government in the Republic of Ireland	14 / 949
Local Government (NI)	1 / 462
Website
peoplebeforeprofit.ie
Politics of the Republic of Ireland Political parties Elections Politics of Northern Ireland Political parties Elections

The People Before Profit Alliance (PBPA) is a socialist political party in Ireland formed in October 2005.^[6] It is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Overview

The PBPA was established by the Socialist Workers Party. The Community & Workers Action Group of south Dublin (CWAG) joined the Alliance in 2007 and brought along the party's first elected representative, Joan Collins, an anti–bin tax campaigner and former member of the Socialist Party.

Republic of Ireland

The Alliance contested several constituencies in the 2007 general election, polling around 9,000 first preferences, with Richard Boyd Barrett—the candidate in the Dún Laoghaire constituency—missing a seat on the 10th and final count by 7,890 votes to 9,910.^[7][8]

In May 2008, the Alliance launched a campaign calling for a No vote to the Lisbon Treaty when it was put to the people.^[9]

In the Republic's 2009 local elections the Alliance ran twelve candidates, including ten in County Dublin. The Alliance secured five seats in three of Dublin's four councils. As well as ten members of the SWP, the Alliance ran Joan Collins and Pat Dunne of the CWAG in Dublin,^[10] and Donnie Fell (a former Waterford Crystal worker and trade union representative) in Waterford.^[11]

In the Republic's 2011 general election, both Richard Boyd Barrett and Joan Collins were elected to Dáil Éireann as TDs (deputies), running under a joint People Before Profit and United Left Alliance banner. The average expenses claim by a People Before Profit Alliance TD between the February 2011 general election and the last day of December 2011 was €31,866.^[12]

In April 2013 Joan Collins TD and Cllr Pat Dunne left the Alliance to form United Left, a political party with former Socialist Party TD Clare Daly.

In the May 2014 local elections, the Alliance won 14 seats including two seats outside Dublin on Sligo and Wexford County Councils. The Alliance's European Parliament candidate, Bríd Smith, was not elected in Dublin.

Discussions were held in August 2015 with the Anti-Austerity Alliance about forming a new political grouping.^[13] On 17 September 2015, the two parties announced they had formally registered as a single political party for electoral purposes.^[14] The new organisation is called the Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit.

At the 2016 general election, Boyd Barrett was re-elected.^[15] He was joined by fellow Alliance candidates Gino Kenny and Bríd Smith.^[16][17] Candidates to come close included John Lyons^[18] and Gareth Weldon.^[19]

Northern Ireland

People Before Profit unsuccessfully ran one candidate, Sean Mitchell, in the 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election, polling 774 first preferences in the Belfast West constituency. He successfully gained the right to stand in an election by threatening to take the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain, to court if the legal loophole preventing him from doing so was enforced. (England, Scotland and Wales had secured the right to contest candidates under the age of 20, providing they were over 18, for constituencies for devolved government, whereas Northern Ireland had been simply excluded).

The People Before Profit Alliance ran four candidates in the Northern Ireland Assembly election of May 2011, winning 5,438 first-preference votes between them but no seats in the new Assembly. Its most successful candidate in this election was Eamonn McCann, who won 3,120 first-preference votes, or 8% of the total, in Foyle.

In the June 2011 Belfast West by-election, Gerry Carroll won 1,751 votes (7.6%), coming in third place and ahead of both unionist candidates.

In the 2014 Belfast City Council election, Gerry Carroll became the first PBP councilor elected in Northern Ireland, winning 3rd place in the Black Mountain DEA, with 1,691 1st Preference votes.

In May 2016, Gerry Carroll went on to top the poll in the Belfast West constituency at the 2016 Assembly Election with 8,299 votes (22.9%), almost 4,000 first-preference votes clear of his nearest challenger, Sinn Féin MLA Fra McCann.^[20] This victory secured PBP with their first elected MLA. Eamonn McCann also took a seat in the Derry constituency of Foyle.^[21]

2016 EU Membership/Brexit Referendum

People Before Profit supported and campaigned for a Leave vote in the EU Referendum in 2016.^[22]

Election results and governments

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Assembly elections

Westminster elections

Republic of Ireland

Dáil Éireann elections

Local Government elections

European elections

The People Before Profit Alliance have so far only contested European Elections in the Republic of Ireland.

See also

• United Left Alliance

References

External links

• Official website