Support Our Campaign in Fermanagh and South Tyrone
Cross-Community Labour brings together trade union, labour and socialist activists, and environmental and community campaigners.
We believe that it is only through uniting working-class people that can we defend our public services and our living standards. Cross-Community Labour stands alongside every community campaign and every group of workers on strike.
We believe in fighting for every gain today. However, we will always face the same problems unless there is major change. This means the reorganisation of society under democratic socialist principles. The multinational corporations and big business which control most of the economy should be brought into public ownership and decisions should be made democratically to provide for a better life for all.
We are in favour of mutual respect and compromise on divisive issues. We support and work with trade unionists and campaigners North and South, and in Scotland, England and Wales. We are internationalists and support and link up with activists across the world. Together we can forge a better, shared future where the democratic rights of every individual and all communities will be guaranteed.
The Anti-Sectarian Left Tradition
We are part of the strong anti-sectarian left tradition which exists everywhere including Fermanagh and Tyrone. Cross-community socialists have previously won council seats in both Enniskillen and Dungannon, the two main towns in the constituency.
Davy Kettyles held a council seat in Enniskillen in the 1980s and 1990s standing first for the Workers Party and later as a Progressive Socialist. More recently Donal O’Cofaigh won a seat in the 2019 election for Cross-Community Labour.
Jack Hassard, a Protestant working-class activist was the voice of opposition to both unionism and nationalism on Dungannon Urban Council in the 1960’s and the 1970s as a Northern Ireland Labour Party councillor.
Gerry Cullen: A Proven Campaigner
Our candidate in this election, Gerry Cullen. has been involved in politics in Fermanagh and South Tyrone for over 40 years. He was elected to Dungannon District Council on three occasions standing on labour and socialist principles. He lost on his fourth outing on his highest ever vote due to the vagaries of the transferable vote. Gerry was first elected for the Workers Party and later stood as an independent socialist.
As an elected representative Gerry Cullen campaigned to Save Acute Services at the South Tyrone Hospital Dungannon. He supported Integrated Education. He campaigned for improved road safety on the A5 and A6 roads.
He stood up for the Irish Traveller community when it was extremely difficult to do so, campaigning for clean water and toilet facilities on their sites. On one occasion he sat with the Travellers in their caravans to prevent evictions by the police.
He raised the issue of domestic violence and successfully fought for the provision of safe refuge space for women and children in the 1990s. He proposed the establishment of a Disabled Access Committee and successfully campaigned to make Dungannon Town Centre friendly and accessible for disabled users.
Recently Gerry has led a campaign to defend the personal and professional reputation of nurses and care workers and has been a very vocal advocate for the protection of Care Home residents and families’ rights.
A Patient and Consistent Approach
We believe that it is important to provide working class people with a consistent alternative. Cross-Community Labour have stood in six of the last seen elections in Fermanagh and South Tyrone.
Donal O’Cofaigh stood in the Assembly elections in 2017 and 2022 and in the Local Elections in 2019 and 2023. After Donal won a seat in Enniskillen in 2019 for four years was a voice for working class people and a thorn in the side of both nationalism and unionism. He lost his seat in 2023 in an election which saw candidates outside the big parties squeezed everywhere but has continued to campaign and struggle every day since.
Caroline Wheeler stood as an independent candidate in the 2019 General Election, backed by both the Labour Party Northern Ireland and CCLA. She won an impressive 751 votes in a highly contested and sharply sectarian election. She was the only anti-sectarian left candidate in the 2019 election. If 18 candidates with a track record, local profile, and a serious campaign had stood there could have been 10,000 votes for a real alternative across the North.
Gerry stood as a council candidate in Dungannon Town for CCLA in the 2023 Local Elections and gained a very credible vote against the electoral tide.
Showing the Way
We will contest every election in Fermanagh and South Tyrone and we will work with activists across the other 17 constituencies to ensure all workers and young people have a real alternative on the ballot paper in the future.
There is no reason why activists in the other 17 constituencies could not come together and provide an alternative. If genuine coalitions come together in each area, build carefully and patiently, we can make this work.
The next Assembly election will be in May 2026 and the next locals in May 2027. May 2026 may sound far away but when the dust settles on the General Election results and parliament sits in September there will only be 18 months for activists to come together, decide to stand and to start preparing.
This is the only way forward. We all hope for new struggles to develop new activists, but they need a guiding light. They need an example.
There is Real Potential
There is hard evidence that a broad political project could in time attract members and a good vote.
There are a quarter of a million trade unionists in Northern Ireland. Of these 150,000 belong to unions which offer members the opportunity to pay into a “political fund”. This is an option-it is easy to say no-but yet 37,000 “opt in” most in full knowledge that their payment helps to fund the Labour Party. Many of these 37,000 would be sympathetic to a new left project in the North which contests elections.
NIPSA, the largest union in Northern Ireland has no political fund. Just over 50% of delegates voted in favour of a membership ballot to endorse the creation of a political fund at its annual conference in late May. If this step was taken it would start a journey which could end with the union endorse candidates in elections. Many of the delegates who voted for the motion are sympathetic to the idea of a new left project.
When Jeremy Corbyn became leader of the LP in 2015 membership in the North grew rapidly from 500 to over 3000. Today membership has fallen back but it remains higher than before the Corbyn years. The 3000 who flooded into Labour were attracted to the left message encapsulated by the slogan “for the many not the few”. Many must still be looking for a real alternative.
Several years ago, the Labour Party commissioned LucidTalk to conduct a poll which demonstrated real support for Labour politics in Northern Ireland. Six per cent of respondents said they would give Labour party candidates (if Labour ever stood) a first preference vote. A further thirty-two per cent said they would give Labour candidates a second or lower preference. A third of the electorate do not vote. Up to 15% vote for Alliance or the Greens in each election. There is an untapped reservoir of support for genuine labour and socialist candidates standing on a clear cross-community ticket.
What You Can Do
Donate to Gerry’s Campaign:
Gerry’ s campaign will cost £5000-this is what it will cost for the deposit, posters, leaflets and the electoral communication which will come through the letter box of the voters. Every penny must come from our supporters. Please donate what you can.
To donate please use the following bank account Donal O’Cofaigh (Election Agent), Danske Bank, Sort code 95-03-09, Account number 20103705.
Help out in Gerry’s Campaign:
We need help on the ground over the next two weeks. If you spare half a day let us know. The more boots we have the ground the more people we will reach with our message.
Join and Build Cross-Community Labour:
We want to build CCLA everywhere. If you want to join text on 07703736713 or email cullengerry002@gmail.com