Independents aim to buck historical trends
THE fate of the independent has not always been a story filled with success in County Wexford. In fact, since 1921, of the 35 TDs elected to Dáil Eireann from the constituency, just two have been independent.
Of these, the first was Dr Liam Twomey who was elected in the 2002 general election. However, his status as independent didn’t last too long and in September of 2004, he opted to join Fine Gael, landing a role as the opposition spokesperson on health. He later lost his seat in the 2007 general election, upon running as a Fine Gael candidate for the first time, being eliminated on the sixth count. Following this he was elected to the Seanad where he served from 2007 to 2011, before he was elected once again in 2011, this time tasting success as a major party candidate.
The second successful independent candidate the County has returned is equally not a clear-cut situation. While Mick Wallace was famously elected as an independent in the 2011 general election, having entered the race at the final hour, by the time he contested the next election in 2016 he was a fully fledged member of a new party Independents 4 Change - headed by himself and Clare Daly.
The party’s title is somewhat ambiguous. The candidates still very much run as ‘ independents’, however, owing to the fact that they are members of Independents 4 Change, which is a registered political party, this by definition is not the case.
As we’re now on the verge of General Election 2020, we have three totally independent candidates, while Seánie O’Shea operates in a grey area as a member of Independents 4 Change. Although he platforms himself as an independent and has received the endorsement of veteran independent councillor Davy Hynes, he is still a member of Independents 4 Change and has been canvassing in the company of MEP Mick Wallace over the past week.
‘I’ve no problem saying I’m a member of Independents 4 Change,’ Seánie said. ‘ I think everyone is familiar with the party through Mick ( Wallace), Clare Daly and Joan Collins. Obviously Mick and Clare are gone to Europe now, but the party is still there. Would I ever consider operating within any of the main parties? Absolutely not.’
‘I’m a realist. I’ve no doubt it’s a very difficult task facing me,’ he said. ‘ There are two sides to it. As an independent you don’t have that big party machine behind you. But on the flip side, on the doorsteps there’s a lot of anger and people don’t necessarily want to talk to Fine
Gael, Fianna Fáil or Labour.’
The other three independent candidates are all operating in close proximity geographically, hoping to capture a large chunk of the south Wexford vote.
Following her de-selection by Fine Gael, Verona Murphy maintains a high profile after deciding to go it solo. Having run into controversy over her stance on migrants as a Fine Gael candidate in the by-election, she’s now billing herself as an independent voice for rural Ireland and has been gaining ground on trips to the marts around the county and showing support for the farmer’s protest in Dublin.
As Chairman of the Rosslare Municipal District, Cllr Ger Carthy has topped the poll in his last two outings in the local election. He’ll be hoping that he can call upon this voting base once again as he aims to convince himself that he, and not Ms Murphy, would be the strongest voice for the south Wexford region.
Finally Bart Murphy is considered a massive outsider, but the Foulksmills native is running on a platform of overhauling the rates system and giving the average business owner a break should he be elected.
At the bookies, none of the independent candidates are favourites to take one of the five seats on offer in the constituency. Given Wexford’s historical preference to vote for the main parties, this is probably fair. However Verona Murphy is certainly being mentioned as being in the mix for the fifth and final seat in some betting offices around the country.
While history is against independents, Ger Carthy feels that he’s at no disadvantage by operating outside the main parties.
‘If people do the same thing they’ve always done, they’ll get what they’ve always got,’ he said.
‘Independents make up 19% of the current Dáil. There’s a work ethic there and independents are able to work for the protection of rural Ireland in a way that candidates for the main parties can’t because they’re answerable to the party whip.’
Cllr Carthy also questioned fellow candidate Verona Murphy’s independent credentials.
‘ The only real independents in this race are myself and Bart Murphy,’ he said. ‘Verona was a card carrying member of Fine Gael just 60 days ago and was endorsed by the Taoiseach.’
While a call was made to Verona Murphy to put Cllr Carthy’s comments to her and get her views on whether the tide has turned from the major parties to independent candidates, she said she was too busy canvassing to discuss the matter and instead attempted to pass the call to her campaign manager.
Meanwhile, Charity Shop owner Bart Murphy believes himself to be the only ‘ truly independent’ candidate.
‘I’m the only real independent,’ he said. ‘I’m doing it all by myself. I’ve nobody out campaigning with me. I’ve nobody funding me. I’ve no posters or leaflets. I’m doing it all myself.’
‘I think people are absolutely fed up with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael,’ he said.
‘At least that’s what I’m hearing on the doorsteps. They say they’d rather vote for anyone but them. But then when it comes to the ballot box, the Irish people are afraid to vote differently.’
‘A lot of people are saying that they’re going to give me a vote, but realistically a second or third preference is no good to me. I need number ones or I’ll be out of it by the time they get down to transfers. Politicians don’t know what’s going on in the real world. I’m dealing with poverty every single day and I think that makes me a great independent candidate.’
While there does seem to be some backlash against the political powerhouses of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, it will remain to be seen whether this will follow through in the ballot box as a traditionally conservative county has its say this Saturday.
INDEPENDENTS ARE ABLE TO WORK FOR THE PROTECTION OF RURAL IRELAND IN A WAY THAT CANDIDATES FOR THE MAIN PARTIES CAN’T
– CLLR GER CARTHY
WOULD I EVER CONSIDER OPERATING WITHIN ANY OF THE MAIN PARTIES? ABSOLUTELY NOT
– SEANIE O’SHEA