People Before Profit facts for kids

Quick facts for kids People Before Profit Pobal Seachas Brabús
Abbreviation	PBP
Leader	Richard Boyd Barrett
Founded	October 2005; 19 years ago (October 2005)
Headquarters	5 Henrietta Street, Dublin 1, Ireland
Ideology	Trotskyism Socialism Anti-capitalism Irish reunification
Political position	Left-wing to far-left
National affiliation	People Before Profit–Solidarity
Affiliated groups	RISE Socialist Workers Network
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
Politics of the Republic of Ireland Political parties Politics of Northern Ireland Political parties

People Before Profit (which is Pobal Seachas Brabús in the Irish language, and often shortened to PBP) is a political party that started in October 2005. A political party is a group of people with similar ideas about how a country should be run. PBP is active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The party follows the ideas of Trotskyism, a form of socialism. This means they believe that society should be organized to benefit working people, not just to make money for big companies.

History of the Party

Early Years and Mergers

The Socialist Environmental Alliance was a party that joined with People Before Profit in 2008.

People Before Profit was first created as the People Before Profit Alliance in 2005. It was started by members of the Socialist Workers Party. In 2007, another group called the Community & Workers Action Group (CWAG) joined them. This brought in the party's first elected official, Joan Collins.

In Northern Ireland, there was a party called the Socialist Environmental Alliance (SEA). It was mainly based in the city of Derry. After running in several elections, the SEA was dissolved in 2008, and most of its members joined the People Before Profit Alliance.

Growing the Party

In the 2007 Irish general election, PBP candidate Richard Boyd Barrett came very close to winning a seat in the Dáil Éireann (the Irish parliament). The party also campaigned for a "No" vote on the Lisbon Treaty in 2008.

In the 2009 local elections in the Republic of Ireland, PBP won five seats on local councils in Dublin. In the 2011 Irish general election, Richard Boyd Barrett and Joan Collins were both elected to the Dáil. This was a big step for the party.

Gerry Carroll has been a PBP representative in the Northern Irish Assembly since 2016.

In 2014, PBP supported the Right2Water Ireland campaign, which protested against new charges for water in Ireland. This campaign was very popular and the charges were eventually stopped.

In 2015, PBP joined with the Anti-Austerity Alliance to form a single group for elections, called the Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit.

Success in Northern Ireland

In 2016, PBP had a major success in Northern Ireland. Gerry Carroll was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly, becoming the party's first member there. He won with a large number of votes in Belfast West. Eamonn McCann also won a seat for the party in Foyle.

Carroll kept his seat in the 2017 and 2022 elections, though McCann lost his in 2017.

Recent Events

In 2021, a smaller socialist party called RISE merged with People Before Profit. This brought another elected member, Paul Murphy, to the party, giving them a fourth seat in the Dáil at the time.

Until 2024, the party was run by a group of people in what is called a collective leadership. On October 10, 2024, the party chose Richard Boyd Barrett to be its first official leader. They said this would help people recognize the party and make its message clearer.

What the Party Believes In

A logo used by the party showing their slogan.

People Before Profit is an eco-socialist party. This means they combine ideas about protecting the environment with socialist ideas about creating a fairer society for working people. They want to solve problems like climate change while also making sure workers are treated well.

Views on Ireland and the EU

The party supports a united Ireland, meaning they want Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to become one country. They believe this new country should be a "32-county socialist republic."

PBP is also critical of the European Union (EU). They supported a "Lexit" (a left-wing Brexit) during the 2016 EU referendum in Northern Ireland. They believe the EU often acts in the interest of big business rather than ordinary people.

Key Policies

PBP has many policies aimed at improving life for regular people and the planet. Some of their main ideas include:

• Free Public Transport: They want to make buses and trains free for everyone to use.
• Farming and Environment: They want to take control of large farming corporations and use the money to help smaller farmers switch to more environmentally friendly methods. They also want to reduce the number of cows in Ireland to help fight climate change.
• Housing: The party wants to create a state-owned building company to build new homes and improve existing ones to make them more energy-efficient.

Foreign Policy

People Before Profit is against NATO and supports Irish neutrality, which means Ireland should not take sides in military conflicts.

The party has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, they oppose sending weapons to Ukraine and are against sanctions on Russia, arguing that sanctions hurt ordinary Russian people.

PBP strongly supports the Palestinians. They call for sanctions against Israel and support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

Party Leadership

Election Results

This section shows how many votes and seats People Before Profit has won in different elections.

Northern Ireland Assembly Elections

The Northern Ireland Assembly is the government for Northern Ireland.

Dáil Éireann Elections (Republic of Ireland)

The Dáil Éireann is the main house of parliament in the Republic of Ireland.

See also

In Spanish: El Pueblo Antes que el Lucro para niños