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Everybody’s talking about…
Anne Ferris is well-respected and much-admired within the Labour party and no one is particularly happy that she’s been expelled from its parliamentary ranks (she is still a member of the party) after last night’s Dáil vote on Clare Daly’s abortion bill.
The Wicklow TD is the party’s only elected representative in the county after they lost all their councillors last May. ”Anne is Labour in Wicklow,” said one source close to her last night. So it’s fair to say there will be a lot of clamour to bring her back into the fold in the near future.
When that happens is not yet clear although Ferris is likely to apply to rejoin the parliamentary party soon. Labour Youth is saying she should not be punished. Joan Burton said last night it is something the party will address “in the next few days”.
One thing appears clear, this is not like Colm Keaveney’s or Róisín Shortall’s acrimonious departures three years ago and it will be a surprise if Ferris is not Labour’s candidate at the next general election.
The agenda
Inside Leinster House
Simon Harris was the toast of Leinster House yesterday after his performance on Claire Byrne Live on Monday. In scenes not entirely unlike The Wolf of Wall Street, just about everyone on the government benches was keen to offer their congratulations to the young minister for putting Eamon Dunphy in his place as they passed him in the corridors.
What the others are saying
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