Labour candidate George Lawlor on Mick Wallace’s emergence – ‘Just because you’ve a brand you can't swan in and expect votes’

Campaign teams will have exchanged calls and messages, while the spectre of the former TD and MEP is certain to have come up among canvassers hitting the doorsteps of the county.

On the cavass trail in town, Labour candidate George Lawlor wasn't surprised to see the Wellingtonbridge native's name added to the ballot paper.

"I think it's no surprise that Mick entered the fray," he said. "But let's be honest. When he represented the county the last time he wasn't someone who was on the ground working with communities. When he went to Brussels, he stayed in Brussels.

"It's a little bit cheeky to think you can just jump into the fray when someone like myself has been slogging away for 20 years trying to improve communities like Ferndale for example.

"Some feel that because they have a 'brand' they can swan in and expect the electorate to vote for them."

Having read and listened to interviews with Wallace, the current Mayor of Wexford did extend his sympathies to him on a difficult year, noting the passing of his son Joseph back in June.

"I listened to Mick's interview and it was a very personal story," Cllr Lawlor said. "He's had a difficult, difficult year."

However, politically speaking, it seems that Lawlor has no great love for Wallace's "brand".

"I was intrigued by Mick saying that he wouldn't be a parish pump politician, but yet he stated very forcefully that he would be standing in the area that he's from," the Labour man said.

"I don't consider what we have to do in Wexford as parish pump, for example the provision of a campus for the South East Technological University. To me, that's not parish pump. The development of Offshore Renewable Energy is not parish pump, it's a strategic investment in this county, the region and the country.

"If that's a style of politics that Mick doesn't want to be involved in, well that's up to him, but I'll certainly be driving Wexford forward in alliance with my colleagues from around the country who will be driving the country forward."

Perhaps growing uneasy at putting time into discussing a rival, Cllr Lawlor brought the conversation to a close stating:

"I'll be concentrating on my own patch, my own people, my supporters and working with them to ensure this seat remains a proud Labour seat in this county, because we've served this county better than any political party has ever done."