Ruth Coppinger elected to the Irish parliament
Socialistworld.net and staff reporters
The Socialist Party (CWI) in Ireland has won a significant success with the election of Ruth Coppinger in a by-election to the Dáil, the Irish parliament. Ruth’s electoral district is Dublin West, where she has been a local councillor and is also the same constituency that Joe Higgins is a Dáil member for. This victory was the result of the Socialist Party’s campaigning work over years, the undermining of support for establishment capitalist politicians and the recent collapse in support for the Irish Labour Party as a result of being in a pro-austerity coalition government with Fine Gail.
In local elections across Ireland held at the same time as the elections to the European Parliament there were also big gains for the newly launched Anti Austerity Alliance (AAA) within which the Socialist Party is a driving force. A total of 14 city councillors were elected for the AAA in cities including Dublin, Cork and Limerick.
