Phil Kelly - Labour's 'Marxist Irish Republican'

Phil Kelly (Labour commentator)

On a couple of occasions I have been invited on to the Nolan Show on Radio Ulster and found myself debating some subject or other with Phil Kelly who is usually described as a 'commentator'.

He is a member of the Labour Party and was formerly chairman of the Labour Party in Northern Ireland.

I was interested therefore to read about him on the Open Democracy website and here is how he describes his personal and political background.  He was addressing a DiEM25 Festival for Debate event in Sheffield and introduced himself by saying:

I was born in Belfast.  My parents came from the red white and blue side of the divide.  But long before I was born they rejected their communal identities and embraced Marxism and became proud Irish Republicans.  My teenage rebellion was merely to be more Marxist, more republican than my parents.

So after a lifetime of activity on the fringe, intellectual eft, when I decided to join a political party, which would a Marxist, Irish Republican choose?  Well. I joined the UK Labour Party.  I joined to vote for Jeremy Corbyn, as I believe a movement built around the politics of Corbyn can be transformative not just for you here in the UK, but for the people of Ireland and all of Europe.

[DiEM25 is the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025, which was launched in 2015 by former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and Croation philosopher Srecko Horvat.]