26 June 2003: Leixlip-based county councillor Catherine Murphy, who annnounced her resignation from the Labour Party this week, said it was because 'being tolerated within a political organisation is simply not enough' and because of 'destructive internal intrigues'.
She also said that the Labour Party 'has a serious job' to do in giving women a proper chance in politics.
Labour are due to select candidates for both Town and County Council this week and she has informed the organisation that she won't be seeking a Labour Party nomination.
In a statement, the former Democratic Left councillor said she had hoped the merger of the Labour Party and Democratic Left would have 'raised expectations beyond mere fiefdoms', where unity of the left 'would not simply mean a change in personnel but a change in the culture of the organisation'.
Cllr Murphy said that the election of both Pat Rabbitte and Liz McManus to the leadership last year demonstrated on behalf of the membership a desire for change, a recapturing of former Labour values.
"It was a statement of ambition for The Labour Party and what the membership believe it should stand for," she said. "The inability of the organisation itself to change and adapt into a much more democratic and inclusive organisation will be the greatest obstacle."
Cllr Murphy also says that more women not just need to get involved in the political process but MUST get involved. "I have found a resistance at local level towards encouraging women, except when they are a good second choice. Political parties have a responsibility not just to put out the hand of friendship but must ensure women are genuinely welcomed and treated equally. It is not acceptable that women are seen as some lower form of life that can be contained under a firm glass ceiling. Where those attitudes exist they must be rooted out. The Labour Party has a serious job of work to do in this regard."
Cllr Murphy has been 20 years in politics, which she says she entered 'to change things'. "I still have not lost that motivation but I know the Labour organisation in Kildare will limit the outlet for that motivation to local politics. The dishonouring of the written agreement I made with the party at National Level is yet another example of the closed resistance I have encountered. I had stood aside from an automatic General Election nomination to give Emmet Stagg a clear run but I was to receive a Seanad Nomination as part of that agreement.
Cllr Murphy says she intends 'to fulfil the contract' she has with the people who elected her to both Kildare County Council and Leixlip Town Council up to the Local Elections in 2004. " will do this to the best of my ability but as an Independent," she says. "While I never set out to be an Independent, quitting The Labour Party will allow me to function more normally without the destructive internal intrigue which saps so much energy. I would prefer to put that energy into positive things and there are no shortage of issues in an area such as this."
She says she has not yet made a decision to run in the next local elections, because 'finding her feet' as an independent is her 'first challenge'.
