Posted by irishelectionliterature in The Left

Mark P commented earlier …..

There is a rumour going around Facebook and twitter, in both cases originating with SWP members, that the SWP has decided to stand Brid Smith in the Dublin constituency against Socialist Party MEP Paul Murphy. Smith would be standing under the banner of their People Before Profit electoral front rather than openly as an SWP candidate.

She would be a no hope candidate, so their rationale for standing seems to be to raise her profile to better position her to take on independent socialist Joan Collins in the general election. Or to put it another way, damaging Murphy’s chances would merely be an added bonus in a two for the price one piece of naked sectarianism.

There has been no official announcement as of yet, so I sincerely hope that saner heads will prevail. But for the moment there are quite senior SWP people welcoming this “fantastic news” on Facebook.