Eamon Gilmore - Labour Party Leader

Labour Party Leader

Following Pat Rabbitte's resignation as party leader in August 2007, Gilmore announced his candidacy for the leadership. He received support from senior figures such as Michael D. Higgins, Ruairi Quinn, Willie Penrose, Liz McManus and Emmet Stagg, and did not have to contest a ballot, being formally confirmed as leader on 6 September after being the only declared candidate. He is the tenth leader of the Labour Party.

From early on in his Leadership Gilmore insisted that Labour should aspire to lead the next Government and set about building Labour as a third option for voters. At the local elections of 5 June 2009, the Labour Party added to its total of council seats, with 132 seats won (+31) and by July 2010 had gained an additional six seats from councillors joining the party since the election. On Dublin City Council, the party was again the largest party, but now with more seats than the two other main parties combined.

Though in favour of the 2008 first Lisbon Treaty referendum, when it was lost he declared that the "Lisbon Treaty is dead" and publicly opposed a second referendum being held. According to a wikileaks cable released in 2011, he told the US ambassador privately that he would support a second referendum. The ambasador reported that: "He explained his public posture of opposition to a second referendum as 'politically necessary' for the time being". In 2009 the Lisbon Treaty proposal was passed by the Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.

At the 2009 European Parliament election held on the same day, the Labour Party increased its number of seats from 1 to 3, retaining the seat of Proinsias De Rossa in the Dublin constituency, while gaining seats in the East constituency with Nessa Childers, and in the South constituency with Alan Kelly.

In September 2009 at the Labour Parliamentary Party Meeting in Waterford the Labour leader, reiterating what he had said in earlier interviews, categorically ruled out a coalition with Fianna Fáil when a Government is formed after the next General Election.

At his Leader’s address to the 2010 Labour Party Conference (17 April 2010) Gilmore reinforced his vision that the Party should lead the way in building ‘One Ireland’. One ireland is based on the idea that by working together we can get the country back on track and restore our economy, our prosperity and our society. In this speech he named the Labour Party’s policy priorities as being Jobs, Reform and Fairness. He also stated his determination that at the coming general election the Labour Party will run enough candidates, to enable the Irish people to make Labour the largest party in the next Dáil and to lead the next Government .

In July 2010 Gilmore again ruled out a coalition between his party and Fianna Fáil after the next general election even if he were in a position to become taoiseach. Gilmore has also predicted his party is well-positioned to win at least a seat in each of the country's 43 constituencies and two in some constituencies in Dublin, Cork, other urban areas and commuter-belt counties. In all, he said the party has the potential to win 50 seats or more.