Labour is to relaunch itself as a "campaigning party" following its poor performance in the general election. Following a post mortem of its Dail losses at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) near Mullingar, Co Westmeath, yesterday, the party leader, Mr Dick Spring, said it would reemerge as a "confident campaigning party" to win back 10 seats in the next general election.
The party lost 15 seats in June, reducing its Dail representation to 17; the PLP's strength is now at 21, down 20 since the general election.
Criticism of the leadership was voiced yesterday over the timing of the election and the fact that Labour went to the country as part of the Rainbow government and not independently.
During what Mr Spring described as a "collective analysis" of where Labour had gone wrong in terms of holding electoral support, PLP members called for a return to the kind of "vigorous, strong and focused opposition" like the style adopted by the leadership before 1992.
They also demanded a strong campaigning party outside the Dail and Seanad. Some members called for Labour to re-establish and develop strong links with community groups and their constituencies.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Mr Spring said Labour would refocus its policies to reflect "solidarity" with the marginalised sections of Irish society and would work to ensure the benefits of a healthy economy reached the poor and disadvantaged.
He identified drugs, unemployment, crime and other social issues as areas where Labour would be active. He denied the party was attempting to present itself as a revamped version of Mr Tony Blair's "New Labour".
Yesterday's meeting at Bloomfield House, outside Mullingar, was the second PLP review of the party's general election performance. The meeting lasted from noon until 8 p.m., when it was followed by dinner.