Bree slams Labour Leadership over disintegration of Leitrim LP

leitrim | politics / elections | news report Monday April 03, 2006 22:07 by Ray - LP

The Labour Party has been accused by one of its own local councillors of having no regard for the members of the party in the North Leitrim. Sligo councillor, Declan Bree, has issued a scathing statement against his party leadership, following the surprise decision by its North Leitrim representative to resign.

In yet more controversy for the Labour Party, Councillor Bree has accused the party leadership of sacrificing Gabriel McSharry and the entire North Leitriim membership, rather than adding him as second candidate on the party ticket to run in the Sligo-North constituency at the next election.

Mr McSharry has given no specific reason for his decision to resign; all the members of the party in North Leitrim, aside from one member, have also resigned. Councillor Bree says Mr McSharry's resignation is a devastating blow to the Labour Party, as he has been the standard bearer for the party for 15 years in North Leitrim.

Despite the fact, he adds, that the entire membership of the Labour Party in North Leitrim wanted him added as a party candidate to contest the next election, and that the Sligo-Leitrim constituency council had requested that his name be added to the ticket, the party leadership has consistently refused to include him as a candidate.

It would appear, he claims, that the Labour General Election campaign in Sligo-North Leitrim will be solely about sweeping up preference votes for Fine Gael. Cllr Bree says it seems as if Gabriel McSharry and the members of the party in North Leitrim mean nothing to the Labour Party leadership