Editing Brendan Howlin (section)

===Leadership contender (2002)===
In 2002, following Quinn's resignation as party leader after Labour's relatively unsuccessful [[2002 Irish general election|2002 general election campaign]], Howlin again stood for the party leadership.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2002/09/11/story823047586.asp|title=Howlin throws hat into Labour leadership ring|work=[[Irish Examiner]]|date=11 September 2002|access-date=9 January 2007}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> For the second time in five years Howlin was defeated for the leadership of the party, this time by [[Pat Rabbitte]], who was formerly a leading figure in Democratic Left.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/victorious-rabbitte-aims-to-increase-partys-appeal-290699.html|title=Victorious Rabbitte aims to increase party's appeal|author=Senan Molony|work=[[Irish Independent]]|date=26 October 2002|access-date=9 January 2007|archive-date=20 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520023050/http://www.independent.ie/national-news/victorious-rabbitte-aims-to-increase-partys-appeal-290699.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Howlin was succeeded as deputy leader by [[Liz McManus]].

While having been publicly supportive of Rabbitte's leadership, he was perceived as being the leader of the wing of the party which was sceptical of Rabbitte's policy about future coalition with Fianna Fáil. Rabbitte explicitly ruled out any future coalition with Fianna Fáil, instead forming a formal alliance with Fine Gael in the run-up to the [[2007 Irish general election|2007 general election]] (the so-called ''Mullingar Accord'').