The Social Democrats are not going to have a leadership heave, but sooner or later the party must make fundamental decisions. Last weekend’s reports of plotting against co-leaders Catherine Murphy and Róisín Shortall evaporated on impact. A letter seeking a leadership contest, while emphasising the Trojan work being done by Murphy and Shortall, was never sent. The SocDems are still in a growth phase, trying to turn campaign activism into political hard graft. Single-issue campaigns such as Repeal the Eighth or marriage equality, however transformative, have no long-lasting impact.

Source: The Times July 31, 2021 22:52 UTC