Just how big could the Social Democrats get?

So I thought we would start with that.

Um, because now that the dust has settled, what do you think is the big story from the by-elections? Because I think there's a story there in almost how every party performed really, with the Soc Dems and Independent Ireland, uh, doing so well, with a government party winning a seat, which is obviously unusual.

Fine Gael doing terribly, Labour having a decent showing in Galway West in particular.

So what stuck out to you? Jane, I might jump to you first.

Yeah, I guess, I mean, it's funny how quickly things just move on, um, in the political life cycle in Leinster House.

Like, we had Daniel Ennis and Sean Kyne starting their first days on Tuesday, and there was a lot of fanfare around that from Fine Gael and then from the Social Democrats as well.

Um, but it's funny just how quickly everyone moves on to the next thing, which is now the Shannon by-election and who's gonna take Sean Kyne's seat.

Um, and yesterday there was a lot of emails going around between some of the party leaders on the left, um, talk about, you know, getting a united left candidate up and running.

Um, and we kind of saw again how maybe there's a bit of a disagreement on the left over just who is left-wing enough to be in these kind of pacts, which is one of the main things-

Extremely left-wing, isn't it? It's very, uh, the first, uh, item for discussion is always the, the split.

[laughs]

Yeah, totally.

And, like, it, it, it's, uh ...

It was interesting on The Plinth as well on Tuesday, um, we had Labour leader Iva- leader Ivana Bacik come out, and she c- she would kind of rarely be out on The Plinth on a Tuesday, but it was the most forthright I've seen her be, um, in her criticism of Sinn Féin, which I thought was really, really interesting off the back of this by-election.

And she was saying, she had said before that she, you know, she kind of had an issue with some of Sinn Féin's left-wing credentials, as she put it, and she was talking about their policies around immigration and, um, some of their taxation policies and their stances on climate change and the carbon tax.

Um, but this was the first time I've ever heard her say outright that she doesn't think they're a left-wing party.

Um, and yeah, I think there's this-

That is fighting words, isn't it?

... in-fighting that we kind of see-

Mm

... on the left, um, sometimes.

So I think that's gonna be, be one to watch now, whether we can see that kind of unity continue, and it's just, that tension seems to be coming from the Labour Party.

I mean, talking to others in the Social Democrats, and People Before Profit, and the Greens, they are all still very much willing to work with, um, Sinn Féin going forward, which I, which I think is notable.

So, um, there was kind of some talking points around, like, is the idea of, like, a left-wing transfer pact dead in the water after this by-election? And, mm, I mean, if Labour aren't gonna play ball, you could argue that possibly it is.