Independents 4 Change

Independents 4 Change[4] (Irish: Neamhspleáigh ar son an Athraithe) is an Irish political party.

This article is about the Irish political party. For the British political party of a similar name, see Change UK.

Independents 4 Change Neamhspleáigh ar son an Athraithe[1]
Founded	2014 (2014)
Headquarters	21 Elmwood Drive, Swords, Dublin
Ideology	Socialism[2]
Political position	Left-wing
European Parliament group	European United Left–Nordic Green Left
Dáil Éireann[2]	0 / 160 [3]
Local government	3 / 949
European Parliament	2 / 13
Politics of Republic of Ireland Political parties Elections

History

The political grouping registered as a political party since 2014.[5] It was previously known as Independents for Equality Movement.

The party adopted its current name in September 2015, after the establishment of the Right2Change electoral alliance, which its candidates in the 2016 general election subscribed.

Within the 32nd Dáil, I4C took advantage of revised Dáil standing orders to form their own technical group, which also included three Independent TDs who were not members of the party itself: Catherine Connolly, Thomas Pringle, and Maureen O'Sullivan.[6][7][8]

Tommy Broughan left the party on 26 July 2016.[9]

In 2016 Ruth Nolan, a member of South Dublin County Council for Lucan who had been elected for People Before Profit, joined Independents 4 Change.

In May 2020, Joan Collins left I4C to found a new party called Right To Change, leaving the party with no TDs.[3]

Electoral history

Four candidates contested the 2014 local elections for the group in each of the local electoral areas in Wexford County Council.[10] None of them were elected.

Mick Wallace,[11] Clare Daly,[11] Joan Collins,[12] and Tommy Broughan,[13] and councillor Barry Martin[11] contested the 2016 general election for Independents 4 Change, with Broughan, Collins, Daly and Wallace being elected.

At the 2019 European Parliament election, Clare Daly and Mick Wallace were elected as MEPs. Three councilors were elected for Independents 4 Change in the local elections held on the same day, including former Labour TD from Sligo, and longtime Independent Socialist councillor Declan Bree.

In the 2020 general election, Independents 4 Change returned one TD, Joan Collins in Dublin South-Central.

General elections

Election	Seats won	±	Position	First Pref votes	%	Government
2016	4 / 158	4	6th	31,365	1.5%	Fine Gael – Independents with Fianna Fáil confidence & supply
2020	1 / 160	3	9th	8,421	0.4%	Fianna Fáil – Fine Gael – Green Party

Local elections

Election	Seats won	±	First Pref votes	%
2014	0 / 949		1,828	0.1%
2019	3 / 949	3	8,626	0.5%

European elections

Election	Seats won	±	First Pref votes	%
2019	2 / 13	2	124,085	7.4%

References

1. https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/parliamentaryBusiness/orderPaper/dail/2017/2017-05-10_order-paper_en.pdf
2. Nordsieck, Wolfram (2020). "Ireland". Parties and Elections in Europe.
3. "Dublin TD Joan Collins leaves I4C to found new party Right to Change". The Times. 31 May 2020.
4. "Register of Political Parties" (PDF). The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties. 16 October 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
5. "Iris Oifigiúil, 14th March 2014" (PDF). Retrieved 20 May 2014.
6. Mick Wallace (14 April 2016). Housing Issues: Statements. Dáil Debates. Ireland: Dáil Éireann. Vol. 906, No 4., p. 39.
7. "Dáil Éireann Members' Directory - 32nd Dáil - Independents 4 Change". Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
8. Bardon, Sarah (1 June 2016). "Ministers told they must seek permission to miss Dáil votes over 'delicate voting situation'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
9. "Independents 4 Change members of the 32nd Dáil". Oireachtas Members Database. 6 April 2018.
10. "Non Party/Independent candidates for the 2014 Local Elections". Adrian Kavanagh – Irish Elections: Geography, Facts and Analyses. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
11. "Independents 4 Change". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
12. "Joan Collins". Election 2016. RTÉ.ie. February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
13. "Tommy Broughan". Election 2016. RTÉ.ie. February 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2016.