People Before Profit Pobal Seachas Brabús[1] | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PBP |
| Leader | Richard Boyd Barrett[2] |
| Founded | October 2005; 20 years ago (October 2005) |
| Headquarters | 5 Henrietta Street, Dublin 1, Ireland |
| Ideology | Trotskyism[3] Socialism[4] Anti-capitalism[5] Irish reunification[6] |
| Political position | Left-wing[7] tofar-left[8] |
| National affiliation | People Before Profit–Solidarity |
| Affiliated groups | |
| Colours | Red |
| Slogan | Fighting For Workers & Eco-Socialism |
| Dáil Éireann | 2 / 174 |
| Northern Ireland Assembly | 1 / 90 |
| Local government in the Republic of Ireland | 9 / 949 |
| Local government in Northern Ireland | 2 / 462 |
| Website | |
www | |
People Before Profit (Irish:Pobal Seachas Brabús,PBP) is aTrotskyistpolitical party active in theRepublic of Ireland andNorthern Ireland. It was formed in October 2005 as thePeople Before Profit Alliance.
PBP supports thereunification of Ireland, though rejects the use of "unionist" and "nationalist" labels within theNorthern Ireland Assembly. The party describes itself aseco-socialist.
Within the Republic of Ireland, PBP makes up part of thePeople Before Profit–Solidarity electoral alliance, with its TDs sitting as part of theIndependents and Smaller Parties Group. The parliamentary leader and national spokesperson of the party is the TDRichard Boyd Barrett, who has held the roles since October 2024.
People Before Profit was established in 2005 as thePeople Before Profit Alliance by members of theSocialist Workers Party (SWP), a Trotskyist organisation affiliated to theInternational Socialist Tendency (IST).[14] The Community & Workers Action Group (CWAG) in south Dublin joined the alliance in 2007 and brought along the party's first elected representative,Joan Collins, ananti–bin tax campaigner and former member of theSocialist Party.[15] In February 2018, the SWP renamed itself theSocialist Workers Network (SWN) to reflect "a decision to focus on building People Before Profit, and within that to win and educate as many members as possible in revolutionary socialist politics."[16]
TheSocialist Environmental Alliance (SEA) was apolitical party which operated in Northern Ireland, based largely in the city ofDerry.[17]
The SEA contested theNorthern Ireland Assembly2003 election in theEast Londonderry andFoyle seats (reflecting the party's Derry base). It polled poorly in East Londonderry, with candidate Marion Baur gaining 137 first preference votes (0.4% of the total),[18] although in FoyleEamonn McCann gained 2,257 first preference votes (5.5% of the total).[19] Overall, SEA got 2,394 votes in the election, 0.35% of the total.[20]
It contested the2004 elections to theEuropean Parliament, with Eamonn McCann as their candidate. He received 9,172 first preference votes (1.6% of the total votes cast).[21] McCann then stood in the2005 general election in theFoyle constituency, receiving 1,649 votes and winning 3.6% of the vote.[22]
McCann again stood for the organisation in Foyle in the2007 Assembly election, receiving 2,045 votes (4.98% of the total).[23] The group was dissolved in 2008 with most of it folding into thePeople Before Profit Alliance.[17][22]
People Before Profit contested several constituencies in the2007 general election, polling around 9,000first preferences, withRichard Boyd Barrett—the candidate in theDún Laoghaire constituency—missing a seat on the 10th and final count by 7,890 votes to 9,910.[24][25] PBP unsuccessfully ran one candidate, Sean Mitchell, in the2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election, polling 774 first preference votes (2.3% of the total) in theBelfast West constituency.[26]
In May 2008, People Before Profitlaunched a campaign calling for a No vote on theLisbon Treaty when it was put to the people.[27]
In the Republic's2009 local elections People Before Profit ran twelve candidates, including ten in County Dublin. It secured five seats in three of Dublin's four councils.[28] As well as ten members of the SWP,Joan Collins and Pat Dunne of the CWAG ran in Dublin,[29] and Donnie Fell (a formerWaterford Crystal worker and trade union representative) in Waterford.[30]
In the Republic's2011 general election, both Richard Boyd Barrett and Joan Collins were elected toDáil Éireann as TDs (deputies), running under a joint People Before Profit andUnited Left Alliance banner. PBP ran four candidates in theNorthern Ireland Assembly election of May 2011, winning 5,438 first-preference votes between them but no seats in the new Assembly.[31][32] Its most successful candidate in this election wasEamonn McCann, who received 3,120 first-preference votes, or 8% of the total, inFoyle.[33] In the June 2011Belfast West by-election,Gerry Carroll received 1,751 votes (7.6%), coming in third place and ahead of both unionist candidates.[34][35]
In April 2013,Joan Collins TD and Cllr Pat Dunne left the group to formUnited Left, a political party with former Socialist Party TDClare Daly.[36][37]
In the May 2014 local elections, People Before Profit won 14 seats including two seats outside Dublin on Sligo and Wexford County Councils.[38]
People Before Profit supported the successfulRight2Water Ireland campaign against the introduction of water charges in Ireland, which was launched in 2014. By 2017 the scale of the campaign resulted in the suspension and ultimately the scrapping of the funding model.[39] In the2014 Belfast City Council election, Carroll became the first People Before Profit councillor elected in Northern Ireland, winning 3rd place in theBlack Mountain DEA, with 1,691 1st Preference votes (12.1% of the vote).[40][41]
Discussions were held in August 2015 with theAnti-Austerity Alliance about forming a new political grouping.[42] On 17 September 2015, the two parties announced they had formally registered as a single political party for electoral purposes. The new organisation was called theAnti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit.[43]
At the2016 general election, Boyd Barrett was re-elected.[44][45] He was joined by fellow People Before Profit candidatesGino Kenny andBríd Smith.[44][46][47] In May 2016, Carroll topped the poll in theBelfast West constituency at the2016 Assembly Election with 8,299 votes (22.9%), almost 4,000 first-preference votes clear of his nearest challenger,Sinn Féin MLAFra McCann (Sinn Féin was running five candidates).[48] This victory secured People Before Profit with their first elected MLA.Eamonn McCann also took a seat in the constituency ofFoyle.[49] In2017, Carroll retained his seat but with a much reduced vote (12.2%),[50] while McCann lost his.[51]
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In January 2019, Dublin City Councillor John Lyons resigned from the party due to disputes with the leadership.[52] Cllr Lyons subsequently was a leading figure in the foundation ofIndependent Left.[53] He criticised his former party saying: "Solidarity and People Before Profit are the closest fit to us but have a hierarchical, carefully controlled internal life that is not fit for the purpose of socialist change."[54]
The party gained four seats in the 2019 Northern Ireland Local Elections. People Before Profit won five council seats, three in Belfast City Council and two in Derry.[55] The party stood two candidates in the2019 United Kingdom general election, with their best performance being by Gerry Carroll in theBelfast West seat: he came second with 16%.[56]
The party retained its three TDs in the 2020 Irish general election.[57]
People Before Profit supportedDebenhams Ireland workers in their 2020 industrial dispute.[58][59][60]
On 28 February 2021,RISE, ademocratic socialist party that had previously split fromSolidarity in 2019, merged with People Before Profit.Paul Murphy became the party's 4th TD in the process. It maintains its media and functions as an internal organisation.[61]
On 10 May 2021, the party announced thatDún Laoghaire–Rathdown Councillor Hugh Lewis was no longer a member of People Before Profit, "following an internal disciplinary procedure.[62]
People Before Profit retained their single seat in the2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election.[63] They lost three of the five council seats they had had in the May2023 Northern Ireland local elections, with 1.1% of the vote, down by 0.4percentage points.[64]
On 10 October 2024, the party announced that Richard Boyd Barrett had been selected to be the leader of the party, which before had been run as acollective leadership. The party said the reason behind selecting a leader was "offering a familiar face to identify the party with", "communicating the policies of the party in the media", and to be the spokesperson in the leaders' debates in the2024 general election.[2]
On 9 June 2025, Dublin PBP councillor Madeleine Johansson quit the party alongside roughly 30 to 40 other members of the sub-group Red Network amid concerns over talks about entering a coalition government with Sinn Féin. The Red Network argued against going into government with Sinn Féin, warning that such a government would ultimately preserve the existing state structures, and instead proposed "voting for a Sinn Féin led government externally and on a case by case basis".[65] The group criticised PBP for becoming increasingly focused on appealing to middle-class voters and accused it of being politically incoherent, dominated by what they described as "student moralism", and jumping from one hot-button issue campaign to another. In addition, they accused PBP of engaging in "culture war" issues, emphasising instead the need to listen to the people of the estates. Red Network advocated that instead of focusing on the "fake democracy of the Dáil", PBP should seek a revolution towards a "32-county workers' republic". The Red Network called for greater political honesty about coalition plans and a clearer working-class socialist stance.[66][67][65]
People Before Profit are aTrotskyist party[68] committed to political agitation throughworking-classmass action in capitalist societies.[13][69] However, People Before Profit do not accept this label, with their website stating that "Trotskyist is the Labour Party's bizarre code word for anyone with strong left-wing principles".[70] The party self-claims to be aneco-socialist party. It described its 2022AGM as a "positive step forward in building a major, pluralist eco-socialist party in Ireland" and described its party programme as eco-socialist.[71]
In the Northern Ireland Assembly, the party's assembly members sign the register as "socialist" when asked if they are "unionist" or "nationalist", resulting in an official designation of "other" in the assembly.[72] However the party is not neutral on constitutional matters, and are in favour of "a 32 county socialist Ireland."[73] People Before Profit support a referendum on Irish reunification.[74] This is in contrast to their alliance partnersSolidarity who oppose the holding of a border poll.[75]
People Before Profit have supported leaving the EU[76] and campaigned for a 'Lexit' (a left-wing Brexit) in the2016 EU referendum in Northern Ireland.[77][78] Commenting on their pro-Brexit position, Gerry Carroll stated "We made a decision to say that the EU does not operate in the interests of working people anywhere, and the strongest example of that is Greece. What we need is a Brexit that is not shaped byTheresa May, we need one that is shaped by working-class people in Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. And one that is shaped by the trade union movement."[79] Members of Sinn Féin criticised this stance, saying that supporting Brexit, tactically or otherwise, aligned People Before Profit with British parties such asthe Conservatives,UKIP, theDemocratic Unionist Party andTraditional Unionist Voice and regardless of People Before Profit's intentions, this would serve the pro-Brexit agenda.[80] In response, Richard Boyd-Barrett tried to distance PBP's position from those parties, and noted that People Before Profit opposed a hard border, and would encourage "a movement of civil disobedience to remove border posts if they are imposed by either the UK government or the EU".[81]
The party supportsfree public transport.[71]
People Before Profit supportsnationalising the "major Agri-corporations" and using them to finance a “just transition” for farmers and rural Ireland. People Before Profit also seeks to cut the national cow herd by 50% and pay farmers agreen payment to offset this, provided a farmer doesn't earn more than €100,000 a year.[82] People Before Profit seek to create a state-owned building corporation that would be used toretrofit existing homes.[82]
People Before Profit supports the legalisation ofcannabis for medical and general use. It states that it wants to "legislate for the use of medicinal cannabis for pain management of chronic conditions" and medical cannabis be "researched and made available as an evidence-based option for health care providers and patients". It also states that it wants the "non-commercialised legalisation of cannabis to be regulated by a new state body and dispensed via designated stores".[83] In November 2022, Gino Kenny introduced a bill to legalise personal usage of cannabis, and possession of up to seven grams of cannabis.[84]
In 2023, People Before Profit published a document which said that the Irish military and police force (Garda Siochana) would commit acoup d'état on behalf of "wealthy elites" against any prospective left-wing government that formed in Ireland.[85]
People Before Profit is opposed toNATO[86][87] and supportIrish neutrality.[88][89] They have said that "the role of NATO expansion and the role of further potential NATO aggression" are partly to blame for theRussian invasion of Ukraine, which they consider "a conflict between two reactionary imperialist blocs",[90] and accuse NATO of escalating the war "to the terrifying possibility that we could have a nuclear situation".[91] PBP have condemned the invasion as "barbaric" and have supported taking inUkrainian refugees.[92]
People Before Profit calls forsanctions againstIsrael and support thePalestinian-led movementBoycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS).[93] They have called for "a comprehensive package of economic, political and cultural sanctions against Israel for war crimes, ethnic cleansing and thecrime of apartheid".[94]
People Before Profit opposesanctions againstRussia for its invasion of Ukraine.[94][95] Paul Murphy said they stand with Ukrainians "in their struggle against the Russian imperialist invasion", but said sanctions "are hurting ordinary Russians and are only bolstering the Putin regime".Simon Coveney andNeale Richmond ofFine Gael have suggested it is contradictory for PBP to support sanctions against Israel but not against Russia.[94] Murphy responded "You have a call for [sanctions] coming from ordinary Palestinians, including Palestinians who live within the state of Israel and suffer apartheid".[95] Although supporting Ukrainian resistance, PBP oppose sending weaponry[96] or giving weapons training to the Ukrainian military.[97]
| Years | Leader |
|---|---|
| October 2005 – 9 October 2024 | Collective leadership[2] |
| 10 October 2024 – present | Richard Boyd Barrett[2] |
| Election | Assembly | First preference votes | Vote % | Seats | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 3rd | 774 | 0.1% | 0 / 108 | DUP–Sinn Féin–SDLP–UUP–Alliance |
| 2011 | 4th | 5,438 | 0.8% | 0 / 108 | DUP–Sinn Féin–UUP–SDLP–Alliance |
| 2016 | 5th | 13,761 | 2.0% | 2 / 108 | DUP–Sinn Féin |
| 2017 | 6th | 14,100 | 1.8% | 1 / 90 | DUP–Sinn Féin–SDLP–UUP–Alliance |
| 2022 | 7th | 9,798 | 1.2% | 1 / 90 | Sinn Féin-DUP–UUP–Alliance |
| Election | Votes | Vote % | Seats | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,936 | 0.0% | 0 / 18 | Conservative Party–Liberal Democrats |
| 2015 | 7,854 | 0.0% | 0 / 18 | Conservative Party |
| 2017 | 5,509 | 0.0% | 0 / 18 | Conservative Party withDUP confidence & supply |
| 2019 | 7,526 | 0.0% | 0 / 18 | Conservative Party |
| 2024 | 8,438 | 0.0% | 0 / 18 | Labour Party |
| Election (year) | Candidate | Votes | Vote % | Winning party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast West (2011) | Gerry Carroll | 1,751 | 7.6% | Sinn Féin |
| Election | First preference votes | Vote % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,721 | 0.3% | 0 / 583 |
| 2014 | 1,923 | 0.3% | 1 / 462 |
| 2019 | 9,478 | 1.4% | 5 / 462 |
| 2023 | 8,059 | 1.0% | 2 / 462 |
| Election | Leader | FPv | % | Seats | % | ± | Dáil | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Collective leadership | 9,333 | 0.5 (#8) | 0 / 166 | N/a | New | 30th | No seats 27th, 28th government (FF-GP-PD/Indmajority) |
| 2011 | 21,551 | 1.0 (#8) | 2 / 166 | 1.2 (#5) |  2 | 31st | Opposition 29th government (FG-Labsupermajority) | |
| 2016[a] | 42,174 | 2.0 (#8) | 3 / 158 | 1.9 (#7) | 1 | 32nd | Opposition 30th, 31st government (FG-Indminority) | |
| 2020[b] | 44,697 | 2.1 (#8) | 4 / 160 | 2.5 (#7) | 1 | 33rd | Opposition 32nd, 33rd, 34th government (FF-FG-GP majority) | |
| 2024[c] | Richard Boyd Barrett | 49,344 | 2.2 (#9) | 2 / 174 | 1.2 (#7) |  2 | 34th | Opposition 35th government (FF-FG-Ind majority) |
| Election | Candidate | 1st pref. votes | % | +/– | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | SupportedCatherine Connolly as an independent | ||||
| Election (year) | Candidate | First preference votes | Vote % | Winning party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin South-West (2014) | Nicky Coules | 530 | 2.2% | Anti-Austerity Alliance |
| Carlow–Kilkenny (2015) | Adrienne Wallace | 2,377 | 3.6% | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin Mid-West (2019) | Kellie Sweeney[d] | 983 | 5.1% | Sinn Féin |
| Wexford (2019) | Cinnamon Blackmore | 659 | 1.6% | Fianna Fáil |
| Dublin Bay South (2021) | Brigid Purcell[d] | 759 | 2.8% | Labour |
| Election | First preference votes | Vote % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 15,879 | 0.8% | 5 / 883 |
| 2014 | 29,051 | 1.7% | 14 / 949 |
| 2019 | 21,972 | 1.29% | 7 / 949 |
People Before Profit have only contested European elections in the Republic of Ireland.
| Election | Leader | 1st pref Votes | % | Seats | +/− | EP Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019[e] | Collective leadership | 38,771 | 2.31 (#7) | 0 / 13 | New | − |
| 2024[e] | 31,802 | 1.82 (#11) | 0 / 14 |  0 |
a loose historically-trotskyist alliance called "Solidarity – People Before Profit" (S-PBP), some affiliated to the Committee for a Workers International's successor International Socialist Alternative, and others to the Cliffite International Socialist Tendency
The exception was People Before Profit, a small all-Ireland, pro-unity, Trotskyist party that aligned with the Lexit (left-wing Brexit) position of a section of the British left.
Both Prof Murphy and Prof Regan pointed out that Sinn Féin would have trouble trying to do business with any of the far-left parties such as People Before Profit.
Right2Water involves a number of small trade unions (Unite, Mandate, the Communications Worker's Union, the CPSU and OPATSI), as well as the Left parties of Sinn Fein and the united front organisations of two Trotskyist parties (People Before Profit and the Anti Austerity Alliance), and the Workers' Party........The 'Campaign against the Household and Water Taxes' involved socialists from the far left Trotskyist parties
a loose historically-trotskyist alliance called "Solidarity – People Before Profit" (S-PBP), some affiliated to the Committee for a Workers International's successor International Socialist Alternative, and others to the Cliffite International Socialist Tendency
For anybody who has not been intimately involved with the Socialist Workers Party or the Socialist Party, you would need to have a PhD in semantics and rhetoric to winkle out the actual ideological difference between them. They are both Trotskyist and advocate permanent revolution and political agitation through working class mass action in capitalist societies such as Ireland.
The Socialist Environmental Alliance (SEA) comprised the SWP, environmentalists and some others in Derry. The People Before Profit Alliance consists of the SWP plus various and varying activists, groupings and independents. The Campaign for an Independent Left (CIL) enfolded at one time the Dublin South Central-based Community and Workers Action Group (now in the PBPA), the South Tipperary Workers and Unemployed Action Group, the Irish Socialist Network and some independents. The rump of the CIL is now in the PBPA and still meets occasionally. Last year the SEA in Derry joined the PBPA.
2003 Assembly election (26 November; six seats) ... Marion Baur (SEA) 137 (0.4%)
Eamonn McCann - SEC - 2257
SEA - 2394 - 0.35%
Eamonn McCann (SEA) 9,172 (1.6%).
Mr McCann previously stood in the constituency in 2005 for the Socialist Environmental Alliance (SEA) when he received 1,649 and came fourth in the poll. Last year PBP and the SEA merged and now Mr McCann is asking the people of Londonderry to abandon the traditional parties and vote socialist.
Eamonn McCann (SEA) - 2,045 - 4.98
Sean Mitchell - PBP - Eliminated - [#]6 - 774 [votes] - 2.3 [%]
In a local election which saw the left perform extremely well, the People Before Profit Alliance won 5 Local Election Seats. In Dun Laoghaire, Richard Boyd Barrett topped the poll on the first count and took 22.8% of the vote. The following candidates were elected. Richard Boyd Barrett (Dun Laoghaire), Hugh Lewis (Ballybrack), Joan Collins (Crumlin), Brid Smith (Ballyfermot), Gino Kenny (Clondalkin)
People before Profit Alliance - 0 [seats] - 0 [seat change] - 5,438 [votes] - 0.8 [%] - +0.7 [% change]
People Before Profit Alliance ... The party is running four candidates in these elections.
Eamonn McCann - PBPA - Eliminated - [round] 0 - 3,120 [votes] - 8 [%]
In second place was the SDLP's Alex Attwood on 3,088, with Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit third on 1,751.
2011 Westminster by-election (9 June) - ... Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit) 1751 (7.6%)
TDs Clare Daly and Joan Collins are set to launch 'United Left' sometime in May, TheJournal.ie has learned, but many of the Dáil's most high-profile left-wing members, including Joe Higgins and Richard Boyd-Barrett, will not be involved.
Gardaí are likely to issue court summonses to United Left TD Joan Collins and party councillor Pat Dunne in relation to a water meter protest in Crumlin, south Dublin.
People Before Profit is a broad alliance of left wing campaign groups and organisations and the party won 14 seats nationally in the local elections in May.
Rebecca Black talks to Gerry Carroll, People Before Profit's first elected councillor in Northern Ireland, about his objective to think global, act local, and to offer people an alternative to traditional politics.
Black Mountain (7 seats) .. Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit) 1,691 .. PBP 1,691 (12.1%) 1 seat
People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith accused Debenhams of using the Covid crisis as a cover for "a smash and grab on workers' rights". "Many of their workers have given years and years of service and made profits for the company. The company can't be allowed to walk away from their responsibility," said Smith.
Findings from the documentary have been submitted to the Department of the Taoiseach by People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Richard Boyd Barrett.His party has a bill before the Oireachtas on the subject and both he and Fergus Dowd believe the Duffy Cahill Report — submitted to the Department of Enterprise in 2016 and described as "an expert examination of legal protections for workers with a particular focus on ways of ensuring limited liability and corporate restructuring are not used to avoid a company's obligations to its employees" could, if it had been implemented, at least avoided some of the worst aspects of the Debenhams collapse.
The exception was People Before Profit, a small all-Ireland, pro-unity, Trotskyist party that aligned with the Lexit (left-wing Brexit) position of a section of the British left.
Right2Water involves a number of small trade unions (Unite, Mandate, the Communications Worker's Union, the CPSU and OPATSI), as well as the Left parties of Sinn Fein and the united front organisations of two Trotskyist parties (People Before Profit and the Anti Austerity Alliance), and the Workers' Party........The 'Campaign against the Household and Water Taxes' involved socialists from the far left trotskyist parties
National Party: People before ProfitLeader: Collective LeadershipSeats in the Dáil in 2011: 2Ideological orientation: Trotskyist, Marxist, radical leftPolitical group: EUL/NGL
In like manner, Trotskyists still refer to themselves as revolutionaries, but winning and keeping local and parliamentary seats (and the income from these seats) has become far more central in their practices. Recently, in a perhaps unprecedented move for Trotskyist groups, the Socialist Workers Party in Ireland was swallowed up by its electoralist front, People before Profit.
Gerry Carroll, the newly elected People Before Profit Assembly member for the West Belfast constituency, is also campaigning for a 'Lexit' - a leftwing exit...
We defend Irish neutrality; oppose NATO and the military use of Shannon, and all Irish participation in the international arms trade
| International | |
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| National | |
