Colum Eastwood: SDLP is party with 'a new mission'

Addressing delegates at the SDLP annual conference, party leader Colum Eastwood, referenced the Party’s former iconic leader, John Hume. 

He also accused the DUP of "digging its heels in" despite the overwhelming Westminster vote in favour of the Windsor Framework.

Speaking in St Columb’s Hall in Derry on Saturday afternoon, Mr Eastwood said: “We are gathered here in the week that Westminster voted by 515 votes to 29 to back the new Windsor framework between the European Union and the British  Government.  

“And yet, despite that overwhelming vote, the DUP are still digging their heels in.  

“To paraphrase a great man, if the word ‘No' was removed from the English language  Jeffrey, Jim and Jamie would be left speechless. 

“I know the irony is obviously lost on them but it turns out that even British  parliamentary democracy doesn’t cut the mustard with Ian Paisley Junior and the  DUP. And their chief whip has been secretly writing to British Government Ministers  arguing against their own demands,” said Mr Eastwood. 

Mr Eastwood highlighted British Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris’ statement on Thursday that the  DUP had failed to come to terms  with the significance of that massive majority in favour of the Windsor Framework.  

“He is right,” said Colum Eastwood, “but it also points to a much deeper reality and a more fundamental  point.  Because 25 years on, the truth is that the DUP still hasn’t come to terms with the  Good Friday Agreement.  

“They still haven't come to terms with the fact that in a negotiation you don’t get  everything your own way. They still haven’t come to terms with the fact that working together and governing  together, means compromise.  

“It means you don’t get to dominate, it means you have to share.  

“And instead of running after Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and the European Research Group (ERG), it means sitting  down with your neighbours and doing your best for this place we all call home,” said Colum Eastwood.

He continued: “So conference, the negotiation is over, the deal is done. It’s now decision time for the DUP. 

“And the choice now isn’t really about a protocol or a framework. It’s about whether the DUP are prepared to share power with their neighbours.  

“So Jeffrey Donaldson and his party finally need to hear the message that the  majority of people here have been roaring at them for the best part of a year.  

“After this week, the message they need to hear is very, very simple. The DUP need to get back to work or get out of the way. They have run out of excuses, they have run out of road and the public ran out of  patience with them a long, long time ago,” said Colum Eastwood.

Mr Eastwood continued that Jeffery Donaldson could forget about his “seven tests”. 

He added: “There is only one test left. The test is whether we all roll up our sleeves, get back to work and try to help  people. People who have been left without a government in the middle of a health service  and cost of living crisis. 

“That’s the only test that really matters. It is the only test that people should judge us  on. Let’s get on with it.”

Issuing a warning to the British Government, Mr Eastwood said: “Keep your hands off the principle of consent. It cannot be altered to buy off hardline unionism. We won’t allow it.”

Mr Eastwood warned that if the DUP’s long term position was set against restoring democratic institutions “they must take that decision in the knowledge that the democratic  traditions of this island will respond”.

He added: “We will not stand by as the strands of our agreement are pulled apart. Consent for the institutions of the agreement was sought based on an accommodation of three powerful sets of relationships. 

“Nationalists and unionists working together in Northern Ireland. Ministers in the North and South working together across this island. And a new dynamic relationship between Britain and Ireland. 

“We now live with the Assembly institutions in suspension.  We live with the North-South institutions in suspension. And we live with a new form of direct rule through Tory budgets set by Westminster  Ministers with no recourse to the people of the North. 

“Conference, we will not live with that anymore. The great traditions that share this land must be reflected in its governance.  The road that the wreckers have set us on can lead to one of two new destinations. Lasting reform of the Assembly to ensure that our people can work together in their  common interests or a new shared British/Irish stewardship of the North. There is no other way,” said Mr Eastwood. 

Mr Eastwood added that the SDLP had set out an ambitious agenda for reform of the Assembly.

“Under our proposals, the titles of the First Ministers would be made equal to reflect  their equal standing in government. We would return to co-nomination of the heads of government and require a  weighted majority vote for their election. 

“We would reduce the number of votes subject to one party veto and end the abuse  of the petition of concern to deny people their rights. And we would introduce a new weighted majority vote to appoint the new Speaker. 

“It is time to remove the poisonous politics of veto from the beginning of every mandate. And let me say this too, conference, there is no better candidate to be the next  Speaker than Patsy McGlone.  

“Not only is he well qualified and well tempered for the role, he has probably had  more votes cast for him to become Speaker than any other candidate in the history of the Assembly,” said Mr Eastwood. 

Colum Eastwood told party delegates the case for reform was  self-evident. 

He added: “But the mandate of the last election  first has to be respected. 

“We will work with every other party to reassert the primacy of our democracy and  we will do it in a way that excludes no one and no tradition. 

“But if we are unable to secure lasting reform of the institutions then the only  alternative is a new settlement that retains power with the Irish and British  traditions that share this island. 

“Sharing power is no optional extra in our settlement, it is the engine of our  agreement. And if political parties will not work together, then there must be a new model of  shared stewardship between the British and Irish governments. 

That is the only way to accommodate the identities, ambitions and aspirations of our  people.”

“While our politics may be stuck in the present, we will not allow it to slip back to the  past,” continued Mr Eastwood.

“One tradition rule is gone and it is never, ever coming back.  This place only works when nationalism and unionism works together.  It’s time to get back to that. 

“Conference, there is a reason why governance in this place matters. Sharing power isn’t just about sharing out Ministerial Skodas. It means taking decisions to transform this place and the lives of everyone who calls  it home. There has been far too little of that over the last 25 years.  

“Look at the society we have created: 500,000 people on waiting lists for hospital appointments; One in four children living in poverty; Ten thousand households deemed to be homeless; Four in ten children in receipt of free school meals leaving school without five good GCSEs including English and Maths.  

“Whether it’s a reformed Assembly or shared stewardship, those are the challenges  that we need to set our minds to.  That is what we mean when we say it’s time to get back to work,” said Mr Eastwood.

The Foyle MP said the SDLP also had to set its energy toward addressing the unbearable pressure on families across the North. 

He said: “The £600 energy support scheme was a welcome break for many but it is no lasting  solution. It doesn’t even scratch the surface of the big challenges facing working families. That is why the first priority for the SDLP opposition in a new Assembly will be to  address the outrageous cost of childcare. It is so compelling an idea, even Jeremy Hunt and the Tories get it.  

“There is no good reason why parents here are offered less than half of the free  childcare given to parents elsewhere on these islands. Working families see progress in Britain. They see the Irish government investing  billions in a new childcare programme.  

“They are sick to death of childcare bills costing them more than their mortgage. The childcare costs crisis is an emergency and it is a scandal that Stormont has let it  go on this long.  

“So this is our pledge - the SDLP will work day and night to deliver 30 hours free  childcare per week for the parents of all children under the age of five. There will be no limit on our ambition to support working families,” said Colum Eastwood. 

Turning to what he described as the “threat posed by political vacuums” in the North, Colum Eastwood said his party’s greatest achievement was bringing an end to the Anglo-Irish conflict and  removing the boot of violence from the necks of our community. 

He added: “But the peace we helped to secure is imperfect because it has failed to permanently  root out paramilitary violence. Whether it’s loyalist criminality that occupies and oppresses working class  communities.  Or dissident republicans blindly ignoring the will of our people who want to live in  peace. We all have a responsibility to resist their influence. 

“That obligation was brought into sharp focus last month following the brutal attack  on DCI John Caldwell in Omagh. John was loading football gear into the back of his car after his son’s training session  when he was shot multiple times. A police officer in Ireland, dedicated to serving his community and supporting his  children’s local team is no legitimate target.  

"There’s no such thing as a legitimate target. I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to every member of the PSNI working  to keep people safe in our community. In the face of appalling violence, their bravery and dedication to service is an  enduring reminder that for every individual determined to tear us apart, there are  hundreds more committed to defending our peace. 

"This is a moment to rededicate ourselves to the primacy of peace and resistance against violence. It is a moment for us all, one community and one people, to say we are never going  back to this - not in our name.  

Conference, let us pay tribute to the bravery of DCI John Caldwell and recommit  ourselves today to our enduring belief that violence has no place in the campaign to  unite our island," urged Colum Eastwood.

Acknowledging the zeitgeist, Colum Eastwood said: "I know that things are very difficult at the minute and it feels like we’re  always being held back. The dominance of division, deadlock and intransigence has a much broader impact  than an empty building at Stormont. It corrodes and corrupts our democratic institutions. It erodes and erases faith in the value of public service.  It squanders the opportunity and the hope of the moment 25 years ago when we  agreed that our people and our society deserved so much better. 

"But if we know anything in this place it is that people can change things. I was a teenager who felt the euphoria that ran across our community when the  people of Ireland voted to break free from the oppression of violence. After so many years of hurt, people finally embraced the optimism of hope.  It was a real revolution. 

"I feel the hope of that time again. I believe we have it in our power to lead a new revolution in Irish politics. We have all been buffeted by a torrent of change over the last number  of years that people here did not vote for and have had little hand in shaping. None of us are insulated from its impact and we have all been subject to the chaos  that has come in its wake. 

"But people across this island are now speaking openly about change. It fills every corner of our lives from family dinner tables to work canteens, from  pubs to football pitches. We all now know that the future of our island is not fixed. The shape of the society that we can become is not yet set. The opportunity we have, all of us who share this island is to work together. To spill our sweat in our substantial common interests and to imagine a new future  together.  

"That future cannot be guided by a blind obsession with righting ancient wrongs. It must be about reconciling our people, creating opportunity and prosperity for this  and future generations," said Colum Eastwood.

Mr Eastwood said reconciliation had to begin with reconciling yourself with the truth If the North wanted to restore its place on the international stage.

"If we want to rejoin the community of nations and get back home to the EU then it  can only be done in a New Ireland. And anyone serious about rejoining the European Union cannot sit this one out. 

"Our passionate belief in the reunification of this island is motivated by  an unshakable conviction that by every measurable outcome we can build a better health service. We can build a better education system  We can build a better economy and a better life for people as part of a New Ireland.  

"With more than half a million people currently waiting for hospital appointments, it  is painfully obvious that what we have is no longer working well enough. It should not be an accepted law of northern politics that people who are unwell in  our community have to wait longer than anyone else for treatment. That is why our ambition and aspiration should be to construct an all-Ireland health  service, free at the point of delivery. Taking the best principles of healthcare in the North but fundamentally transforming service delivery as part of an all island care network. 

"The obvious truth is that political leaders have prevaricated and delayed on health  service transformation for far too long.  The harder truth is that transformation within the confines of the current settlement  in Northern Ireland alone is always going to be a losing game. To reconfigure services in a more appropriate way with limited resources will always  end up with some communities and some facilities losing services.  The opportunity of a new Ireland is fundamental transformation that is bigger and  broader than shifting a limited resources around to serve a small population."

Colum Eastwood added that the integration of two health systems would be a "significant challenge". 

"It will require the best minds and the combined effort of the machinery of  government across our island. And it will still require difficult decisions - there is no escape from that reality and we  should all be prepared to face up to it. But the opportunity, to put an end to the collapse of our health service. To provide people timely access to life saving care. And to pay front line staff a wage that provides dignity for their vocation is one of  the biggest prizes we can hope to achieve.  

"There is nothing worth fighting for more."

Turning to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Colum Eastwood said it had published its "final warning".

He added: "We are on track for unchecked temperature changes above 1.5C that will inflict  irreversible damage to our climate. It would leave millions of the most vulnerable people on our planet as climate  refugees. Their homes destroyed and homelands transformed by our carelessness. 

"Our ambition for a New Ireland should not only be to reach energy independence by  2050 but to become a world leader in the development of clean, green technologies. Sometimes we’re accused of trying to out-green our opponents, well that’s what  out-greening the competition really means. 

"The jobs of today and tomorrow will be based on carbon reduction and capture. They will include renewable energy generation and more sustainable forms of  manufacturing and construction. And conference, while we are talking about construction.  Let our movement have as a core objective an ambition to build enough new  housing to eliminate the scandal of homelessness in our country for once and for all. 

"Let us build a nation that is proud to provide for the most vulnerable. Let us build an Ireland that gives power and place to the marginalised and the  dispossessed. An Ireland that stands with the public sector workers who give it shape and  structure. An Ireland that believes, as a founding principle, in the dignity of a fair wage for  everyone."

In a nod to the Scottish Independence Referendum, Colum Eastwood said: "A movement for change is only as powerful as its prospectus.

"Before the referendum on Scottish Independence, campaigners produced a 600 page  document addressing the hopes and fears of an electorate asked to embark on a  new journey to nationhood. It set out the opportunity of a new economy, freed from the centralisation of  resources, jobs and opportunity in a far off capital. It set out the chance to invest in new skills and in a new generation to give them the  opportunity to build a life of fulfilment for themselves and service for their country. 

"That’s something that the people of this city know about all too well and will only be  addressed by 10,000 students at Magee. The Scottish plan set out the need for investment in infrastructure as the nervous  system of a nation that lifts people and communities out of poverty and isolation. 

"For people in this city, across the North West and in North and West  Belfast all of that will sound like an urgent call to action. But that detailed roadmap also set out the answers to the big challenges facing a  new nation - questions that we have to answer ourselves. 

"How will we approach the impact of currency change? Where will pension liabilities rest? How do we integrate the machinery of public service which have grown distinct in  the years since partition?  How does policing keep pace with the substantial changes that have underpinned  support for the PSNI in the North? What will a separation settlement with the UK look like? 

"I don’t pretend that there will be an easy consensus or that the path to a new  Ireland will be an easy one to tread. My commitment however is that our movement will be defined by the key principles  that have defined this party. Honesty. Integrity. Hope. Underpinned by the relentless pursuit of reconciliation and a fearless commitment  to go anywhere and speak to anyone who has a stake in the new society we want to  build," said Mr Eastwood.

According to Mr Eastwood, the SDLP's New Ireland Commission has shifted gear.  

He said: "We are now embarked on an exciting programme of public engagement that aims to  reach every tradition and every community on our island. 

"Since the launch of the Commission’s new phase of work this year, it has held  engagement events in Dublin, Belfast, London, New York and Washington DC. We have hosted discussions with people from a range of backgrounds that reflect  the diversity of traditions that share our island.  

"And this is where our movement differs so substantially from all others. We don’t just preach about a future that accommodates the people of our island,  we are putting in the hard yards to make it happen. In our words and in our actions we are meeting the duty to tell our unionist  neighbours the fundamental truth, you belong to this place every bit as much as we do. Therefore you have the very  same right to shape and share the future of this island.  

"As the great Ulster poet John Hewitt wrote: 'This is my country; my grandfather came here and raised his walls and fenced the tangled waste and gave his years and strength into the earth'.

"Hewitt had a fundamental belief in regional identity in Ireland. The overlapping space between those identities allowed him to be Ulster, Irish,  British and European. That is a powerful example of the shared society we must forge together. We must all commit to giving our years and strength into this shared earth because  we all belong to this island and it belongs to all of us.  

"And conference, I can tell you that anyone who says say that unionism will not  engage in this debate because it is not in their interests, is categorically talking out of  their hat," said Column Eastwood to loud applause.

He continued: "We know this because they are talking to us, they are sharing their concerns and  their fears about the future. 

"The most common concern we have heard so far is that people believe there will be  no place for their British identity in a Northern Ireland outside the UK. It is the core mission of this movement to reach out to our unionist neighbours. Our task is to convince them of our conviction that a new future must include them. 

"My appeal to unionism is the same now as it was when I last spoke in this hall - don’t  avoid a new future together for fear of losing the identity you cherish. My challenge to those who disagree with us is this: Try to convince us of your vision of the future and we’ll try to convince you of ours, and then in time let the people decide."

"No one voice or one party can hold a monopoly on an idea with the  power and potential of the unification of our island and our people. And by the way, that includes us. But the history and heritage of this party places us in a unique position to gather a  coalition for change.

"We have the ability to call upon the support of friends and allies from political  traditions across these islands. I know that others see our close associations with the parties of democratic  nationalism, or parties that share our social democratic viewpoint, as a source of  weakness. They could not be more wrong. We should never feel guilty for having friends. It is one of our greatest strengths. And in the time ahead we will work constructively with every party on this island as  we seek to build a new consensus on the future of Ireland," said Colum Eastwood.

Changing tone, the party leader admitted the  SDLP had just been through a bruising electoral contest, which exacted a high price  from its parliamentary team.  

He said: "Polls and surveys have not made for comfortable reading. I know how it feels to read the commentary from the naysayers about the future of  our party. But remember, the adversity we face now is nothing compared to the adversity this  party has shouldered in the past. The people writing this party off were writing us off in the nineties.  They were writing us off in the early 2000s. And they will be writing us off until kingdom come.  

"The people in this hall today, and the many friends and colleagues outside, the  values they represent and the vision we set for this island can never be written off.  Conference, let us say clearly in this hall today and then let us go out and tell the  people you meet, the SDLP is here to stay. 

"The SDLP is a party with a new mission. We are a party that is ready to get back to work again and we will win again. Conference, the success of the last two days has been rooted in the reality that together we are redefining our movement. 

"We are resetting our mission and we’re going to embark on a long term political strategy with the goal of reimagining our country. 

"This is what the SDLP is about. This is when we are at our best - when we bring together an unstoppable coalition  that can change the face of our society.  Let us build a new politics. Let us build a new society. An Ghluaiseacht D’Éire Úr. Together we can build a movement for a New Ireland."