Electoral History
Through campaigning work it has built some electoral support, Joe Higgins first being elected to Dáil Éireann in 1997 and to the European Parliament in 2009 along with five other members elected to local councils in Dublin, Cork and Drogheda. It has found it harder to gain an electoral foothold in Northern Ireland, but it has a minor presence in the trade union movement there plus a youth wing.
In the 1997 election the party returned one TD to Dáil Éireann - Joe Higgins (Dublin West), who became prominent during the Anti-Water Charges Campaign. In the 2002 election, Joe Higgins retained his seat, and in the Dublin North constituency Councillor Clare Daly narrowly missed out on a second seat.
In the 2004 local elections the party gained two council seats, one in South Dublin County Council and another in Cork City Council. They also retained their two previous seats on Fingal County Council. In the European elections held on the same day, Joe Higgins received 23,200 (5.5%) votes in the Dublin constituency, but did not win a seat being eliminated on the 3rd count. In the 2007 Dail election, Joe Higgins failed to retain his seat in the Dublin West constituency.
In the 2009 European and local elections, Joe Higgins took a seat in the Dublin European constituency with 50,510 (12.4%) first preference votes, as well as gaining a seat in the Castleknock local electoral area of Fingal County Council. The party held its seats on Fingal and Cork City Council while gaining a seat on Balbriggan Town Council and Drogheda Borough council respectively. The party lost its only councillor on South Dublin County Council.
In the 2011 general election the Socialist Party elected two TDs to Dáil Éireann. Clare Daly was elected for the Dublin North constituency, while Joe Higgins regained his seat in Dublin West. The party contested these elections as part of the United Left Alliance, a political alliance which included the People Before Profit Alliance and the Workers and Unemployed Action Group along with independent activists. The ULA took five seats in total. Higgins's seat in the European Parliament was filled by Paul Murphy. The Socialist Party unsuccessfully contested the 2011 Dublin West by-election, where its candidate Councillor Ruth Coppinger came third.
Read more about this topic: Socialist Party (Ireland)
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