Mary Regan: Parties of the left jostle for supremacy on opposition benches

"It's about more than prestige, as Labour and the Social Democrats continue to scrap over who is next in line behind Sinn Féin"

"They united in their support for the Catherine Connolly presidential campaign. But now parties on the left have found themselves jostling for position on the opposition benches."

"A long-running dispute over who is the higher-ranking party in the Dáil between Labour and the Social Democrats came to a head this week, with a rearguard action by the former resulting in it keeping its speaking slots."

Labour and the Social Democrats are competing to be the primary opposition party behind Sinn Féin, and the contest involves more than prestige. The two parties previously united in support of the Catherine Connolly presidential campaign. That outward unity has shifted into rivalry as left parties now jostle for position on the opposition benches. A long-running dispute over which party ranks higher in the Dáil intensified this week. Labour mounted a rearguard action that resulted in it retaining its speaking slots and preserving its parliamentary privileges ahead of the Social Democrats.

Read at Independent