Politics

Elaine Byrne: For political inspiration, Holly Cairns should look to Dick Spring

The new leader of the Social Democrats can be a credible voice for her generation, but not if she adopts a policy of perpetual opposition

Holly Cairns, Cork South-West TD: ‘The people’s trust with the Labour Party has been broken.’ Picture: Rollingnews

For someone “sick of being asked” about a potential merger with the Labour Party, the new leader of the Social Democrats spent an awful lot of time talking about her socialist colleagues last week.

Holly Cairns told RTÉ Radio’s Claire Byrne show on Thursday that the “people’s trust with the Labour Party has been broken”. The Cork South-West TD described comments about the origins of the SocDems by an unnamed Labour spokesperson as “scraping the ...