The Mournes and South Down have been a welcoming place for the SDLP, over the many years of the party’s evolution and growth.

 

Over these years we have witnessed many changes, most of these for the good, which in no small part was due to the work the SDLP.

 

However, in recent weeks and months we have witnessed the disintegration of the democratic process, a process that we, in the SDLP, sacrificed so much to achieve.

 

In recent times Sinn Fein and the DUP have abused the structures of devolution, which were intended to be evolutionary and lead to a true equality for the people of Northern Ireland.

 

This degeneration of the political process has lead Unionists to the old game of the crude sectarian headcount.

 

As someone who remembers all too vividly the bad old days of sectarian rule and segregated politics in Northern Ireland, I can say without exaggeration, that unless this rot is stopped: unless the DUP/Sinn Fein axis of sectarianism, divided government and zero sum politics, is defeated, then this community is going back down the road that will lead to our rights being denied by the sectarianism of the day and the rule of the majority parties

 

Progress has, and will only be made in Partnership, not by polarisation.

 

When I stood in front of conference last year I warned Sinn Fein and the DUP that they should not underestimated the courage and resolve of the SDLP, and that we would expose them for what they are; quite simply as a coalition of self-centred, self-serving politicians.

 

Well, now they have been exposed for this, along with their lack of vision and lack of leadership. 

 

These weaknesses have been explicitly portrayed by this recent piecemeal agreement on Policing & Justice: an incomplete agreement,  that was two years in the making, and took many futile visits by the British & Irish Premiers to reach. The outcome was an agreement based on the need for future agreements and reviews by four or five committees, this is quite simply a recipe for future crisis and stand off, and filled to the brim with electoral bargaining tools for both Sinn Fein and the DUP. This pseudo agreement is laced with considerable power transfer to the Office of First & Deputy First Minister

 

This political maelstrom that we have just emerged from, and perhaps are still in, was created by the DUP and Sinn Fein, and was a direct result of both parties placing their party position over and above the welfare of the community. This was not just on the constitutional issue of Policing and Justice, but also by a total neglect of our declining economy, the creation of educational chaos and the dismissal of environmental issues.

 

The DUP and Sinn Fein are feeding off the community rather than nourishing it with political progress.

 

On the broader political issues both the DUP and Sinn Fein have abandoned any pretence of fulfilling their own election pledges of inclusivity. A substantial section of the community both Nationalist and Unionist, 44% , have been excluded from real participation in Government by the Office of First and Deputy First Minister.

 

There has been no opportunity for the SDLP and UUP to provide the necessary, just and practical solutions that are urgently required at this time, on matters such a the budget, the economy, job creation, policing & justice to name but a few.

 

A further disturbing consequence of the political mess, has been the danger of driving the communities further apart. The primary purpose of the Good Friday Agreement was to bring people together by encouraging them to work together.

 

 

The Governments must step up to the mark on this, and abandon their attitude of acquiescence and acceptance of political and community polarisation.

 

By the terms of the Good Friday Agreement both Governments are duty bound to protect the interests of all, and despite their efforts in recent weeks they have failed to ensure, fair, equal and transparent negotiations, which are vital for the future of Northern Ireland.

 

This polarisation and the drift to further community division, is being exacerbated by the secret meetings between the DUP ,UUP/Conservatives and Orange Order. The result of this conspiracy would be to bring our community back towards the obscenity of religious division.

 

I sincerely hope this process can be stopped and reversed, and the community saved from the destruction of all we have gained together.

 

We all must move on, the community, the political process and last but not least the SDLP.

 

 

 

Outside of Government we also face a new dimension, with the advent of Fianna Fail into the politics of Northern Ireland. This move came at a time when we in the SDLP were working with Fianna Fail discussing future initiatives and working together for the benefit of the community.

 

This move into Northern Ireland politics by Fianna Fail was seen by some to be welcome, others as unhelpful, and indeed in other quarters as endangering the process of achieving Irish Unity, an aspiration that can only be achieved by a genuine and evolutionary relationship of trust and respect between Nationalists and Unionists. This new move by Fianna Fail has perhaps added to the complexity of achieving this consensus.

 

We embark on a new era, new leadership and new challenges for the party;  In our beginnings we fought the injustices of the British Government and the tyranny of the Loyalist and Republican death squads. As a democrat it now pains me to say that we fight the injustices that have, as a result of the St Andrews Agreement, been insinuated into the democratic system.

 

We will fight this two party system of government that has been cosily adopted by Sinn Fein and the DUP, now enhanced by the Hillsborough Agreement. A system of government that sidelines the wishes of a substantial part of the community, and in an attempt to be electorally expedient avoids making difficult decisions..

 

We must also ensure that Governments are more robust in their defence of the Good Friday Agreement;  stop pandering to the failings of the Executive system, and creating political comfort zones, rather than defending the peoples choice expressed by their support for the Good Friday Agreement.

 

 

 

The power for change is out in our streets, villages and towns. Our task as a party is to reawaken those who have become disillusioned by the almost inevitability of rolling from one political crisis to the next, and which is most likely to continue under the Hillsborough Agreement.

 

 

 

In this respect there is no better example of a hardworking, selfless and honest politician than our Leader Mark Durkan. Mark throughout his time as leader has always put the needs and rights of the community at the heart of his decision making, and indeed when required before himself and party advantage.

 

As Mark steps down from his roll of Leadership the community can be confident that he will continue the work of ensuring that the rights, not only of his constituents in Foyle but of the wider community, are represented and forcibly presented at Westminster.

 

Mark is an exemplary MP and legislator at Westminster and the SDLP will continue to rely on his political skills in the many years to come as he makes his mark further in democratic politics throughout these Islands.

 

 

From here the SDLP go forward into a new era, with a new leader and new dynamic.

We will go forward tempered by the harsh experiences of recent years and honed by our participation in Executive Government

 

We have been hardened by the reality of this new form of two party rule, by two extremes, who will continue to feed off each other and in turn feed of the fears of their communities.

 

The fight is on for true democratic government, and for the fair reflection of Nationalist and Unionist rights.

 

The outcome is in your hands, and in mine, and I hope that once again the SDLP are up for the Challenge