Claire Hanna’s leader’s speech was concise, punchy and well received. But the enthusiasm in the hall now needs to transfer to good vibes on the doors and high preferences on ballot papers if her party’s ambitions to grow are to be realised.
One of the recurring themes of this year’s conference was disappointment at the performance of the Executive and the lack of delivery. The SDLP is gearing up to do some fancy footwork on the doorsteps and social media timelines to big up their impact in Opposition while explaining how a strong Assembly election result could propel them back into the Executive if certain red lines are met (though those red lines weren’t explicitly listed by speakers). It’s a complicated piece of messaging that has to compete with the simpler “vote Sinn Féin to keep Michelle O’Neill First Minister”.
On the day an orange-man backed Irish unity (again), the SDLP held thematic examinations of continuing regional imbalance, a budgetless Executive, the influence of the far right, and the party’s aspirations for a new Ireland were woven around the strapline of “Build something new”.
Eastwood was the first of many platform speakers to ask whether Sinn Féin were delivering on their promises. “We still don’t have a proper road to Dublin … Casement Park: how’s that going? … Magee expansion in Derry?” He characterised the DUP as being “led by the nose by a pound shop Perry Mason” and decried the reopening of parading issues around Drumcree, remembering Bríd Rodgers being dragged off the Garvaghy Road along with residents.
Parallel fringe events outside the main hall looked at ending violence against women and girls, the price of division and a divided education system, and securing sustainable and affordable housing. While party members and delegates were animated around the stalls, they were more muted for the first couple of hours during the speeches.
“First of all, thank you for being here. I know we aren’t the only political event on the island this weekend. I recognize you had a choice between a bombastic politician with a big mouth and eccentric hair. Or going to protest Donald Trump (laughs) So I’m glad you chose to see me!”
On the Executive …
“By refusing to set a Budget, Ministers are refusing accountability, refusing responsibility and failing our people. They are pushing all the responsibility for cuts onto ordinary public servants. That isn’t leadership – it’s the opposite.
“When John O’Dowd published his draft Budget in January this year. He said it would ‘drive transformational change’. The budget he now says is inadequate was published by him and recommended by him to the Executive and the public. John previously served as acting deputy First Minister in 2011, and to be fair he’s done a fair bit of acting as Finance Minister, not all of it convincing and very little of it is funny.”
His stand-up routine/critique of contemporary unionism …
“Unionist parties appear to be competing to finally euthanise a Stormont first created by the, for them, and in their image. The DUP is in crisis, engaged in an unpopularity contest with itself and struggling to offer any coherent vision for unionist voters.
“The DUP’s natural instinct to say no all the time has been reanimated – so much so they have even started saying no to things they used to say yes to… like reforming Stormont.
“We know the DUP are worried about sliding polls and rivals on the rise. And so we come to the UUP and the TUV, or as we perhaps should call them, the new DUP and the continuity DUP. But sadly there is zero chance of these dissidents decommissioning their mindsets.
“Jim Allister is hardline unionism’s answer to the Rolling Stones. A one man Mick and Keith still touring the same old hits for the die-hard fans. Still knocking back the Shloer in the dressing room after the show. Still can’t get no satisfaction. (laughs in hall) Can’t get no hard… border on the island of Ireland.
“And as for the new Ulster Unionist leader, we have yet to find a subject on which Jon Burrows is not an established expert and authority … Health service reform … Criminal sentencing … Dogs in prison … Hungarian cuisine … Paraguayan literature … Australian Rules Football … okay, I made up the last few, but I have no doubt that when they come up in the Assembly, Jon will have very strong and expert opinions.
“Look, I listen to all viewpoints, but I did have to stop Jon when he tried to give me advice on haircare. (applause) Jon and Jim, not so much bald men fighting over a comb but bald men fighting over the tomb of the DUP.
“And speaking of things that should have been long buried, no sensible person, from any background, wants to reopen the pain and division of Drumcree. (applause) If Jim and Johnny and Carla want some 90s nostalgia, they should use the legal fees on Oasis tickets, though I’m not sure ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ is up their street.
“Conference, the tumult within political unionism might be a spectacle, but that speculation is a distraction. Both the DUP and Sinn Fein would be happy for the next six months to be endless and divisive rows that take us backwards and shift our gaze from the failure to deliver for ordinary people. Conference, we won’t let that happen.”
O’Toole too listed Sinn Féin promises that he felt were unfulfilled: a new A5 to save lives; a rebuilt Casement Park for Ulster and Antrim Gaels to call home; a Good Jobs Bill.
“Conference, these promises were specific and repeated. But not one mile of the A5 has been laid. And we no closer to a ball being kicked at Casement. We know that the DUP is venal and obstructive. We know the British Government is distracted and disinterested. But at a certain point, people are entitled to ask Sinn Féin when promises they made are actually finally going to be kept. To ask Sinn Féin sincerely: after 20 years at the top of power, when will you accept responsibility?
“This is particularly important for those of us who want to build a new Ireland. Because the act of bringing our island together after a century is a major task. The prospect is inspiring but it isn’t inevitable, certainly not without work and credibility. Ultimately a new Ireland means taking responsibility for ourselves here, on this island.
“But if our answer to the challenges of here and now are, in the words of the great political philosopher Homer Simpson – “This is everyone’s fault but mine” – the people we want to persuade to join us on this join us on this journey, to help us build something new on this island might not believe that we are serious. Serious about Northern Ireland now. And serious about the new Ireland we want to build. But I’ll tell you who is serious: Claire Hanna.”
The party leader was introduced by Rebecca Harper, one of the organisers of the Melted Parents campaign, an east Belfast woman with parents from the Shankill Road who is now works for the SDLP.
The leader walked through the hall to the sound of Bliss by Belfast techno band Chalk booming out. The seats were full with a crowd standing at the back.
“Becca’s story tells you something about who the SDLP are in 2026. She didn’t get involved in politics because she spent her life dreaming of sitting in Stormont. She didn’t, like me, grow up steeped in an SDLP tradition. She got involved because something wasn’t working. She put herself to work, she organised and she made change happen. And she believes that it is this party who will make the big change that this society needs and deserves.
“That’s the SDLP I want us to be.
“A home for people who want to get things done, for people who believe this place can work better. For people who’ve always believed in a New Ireland. A home for people who are curious. And even for people who aren’t convinced yet, but who want to be part of the conversation.
“Wherever you come from, whatever tradition you grew up in, whether your family has voted for SDLP for fifty years, or you’ve never voted in your life, there’s a place for you in the SDLP.
“And that’s important because Conference, the SDLP isn’t the only thing changing. Everything is changing.
“As we sit here today, about two hours down the road, Donald Trump is meeting President Catherine Connolly in Dublin. Don’t worry, we’ve checked. He’s not coming here. It’s his turn to boycott us. (laughs)
“And this is real. Donald Trump has announced in the last hour that he’s in favour of Irish unity. He’s not as Orange as he looks. Has anyone checked on the DUP. I hear they’re burning those Trump flags as I speak!
“But change is happening, whether some parties here want to acknowledge it or not. Presidents change. Governments change. The world changes. And while this party itself is changing. Our SDLP values remain the same. Compassion, courage, conviction, our values hold steady throughout.
“Like I’m sure many of you in this room do, I often find myself doomscrolling late at night. And these days, there’s a lot of doom to scroll. War. Genocide. Climate destruction, and the rise of the far right. AI changing our lives at a speed none of us can really understand and a handful of billionaires wielding power over what we see, hear and sometimes what we believe.
“And you can sit looking at all that and think: What am I supposed to do about this? Climate change is maybe the clearest example. For years, for a lot of people, it felt distant. It was something that was happening somewhere else.
“We watched videos of fires and floods; lakes and rivers poisoned by pollution. But eventually those videos seemed to get closer. Until eventually it wasn’t somebody else’s video on my phone. Until it was me, filming Lough Neagh on my own phone. One of the great natural resources of this island covered in a thick green sludge. Like something from a sci-fi film. Except unfortunately there’s nothing fictional about it. It’s real, it’s still there, and Stormont is pretending it isn’t happening.
“So I think a lot of people are asking themselves the same question. What can I possibly do? What can I do about climate breakdown? What can I do about the far right? What can I do about being stuck in a politics that doesn’t care if nothing works, so long as someone else is getting the blame?
“We saw what that meant in Belfast this summer. On that awful night in June, when racist violence was spreading through our streets, people were barricading themselves into their homes in fear. But SDLP representatives went out to help that night.
“And when they saw bewildered families needing to escape the flames of their homes, they didn’t wring their hands, they didn’t just send a tweet. They got their cars. They drove across Belfast. They got those people out. They showed those families that this world cares for them, and they brought them somewhere safe. That’s resistance. That’s solidarity. That’s community. And that is the SDLP.
“Because if the politics of the far right and Trump two hours down the road teaches us anything, it should be this: votes matter, elections matter. Who turns up, matters. And what ordinary people decide to do matters, even when times get tough.
“That’s what the people who built this party knew. More than half a century ago, in dark and uncertain times, they shone a path to something better. They challenged a status quo that seemed immovable. Where the establishment fiercely resisted reform. Where dominant nationalism described injustice but couldn’t translate it into change.
“The people who built this party knew it wasn’t enough to want a different future. You had to build it. You had to do the work. They did the hard slog of turning ideas into change. Relationships across old divides, and thinking in new ways. By being prepared to challenge others, but also to challenge ourselves. Today, the SDLP is finding that same spirit again.
“Conference, two years ago when you gave me the huge privilege of leading this party, I was pretty frank about where we were. A few years ago, people were writing the SDLP’s obituary. Some seemed to take considerable enjoyment in it. One guy wrote a column about it pretty much every week! (laughs) Well they’re not saying that anymore. We’re growing. We’re organising. We’re bringing new people in, taking our message into new communities. We’re forcing ideas onto the political agenda; we’re getting governments into the right place. And people are listening.
“And the best of it is, we didn’t get here by trying to be somebody else. We got here by remembering who we are.”
That was perhaps the line that got the largest reaction from the audience which was notably missing some retired stalwarts from the rows of seats. More positively, there were babies aplenty being nursed during the panels and speeches.
“People are looking to the SDLP now. Because we’re a party prepared to stand up for what we believe in, but prepared to listen too. And we brought that approach into Stormont where we’re delivering the best we can for people, with the mandate we got. And we’re showing that opposition can be more than just pointing out what’s wrong.
“Because of the SDLP, a campaigning SDLP, real institutional reform at Stormont is very much on the table. We turned years of ‘something must be done’ into a mandated plan for change. We turned ‘that’ll never happen’ into Dublin and London now pressing the foot draggers, so that an escape from vetoes and collapses is finally in sight.
“Five years ago, people were promised seismic change from the big parties. They were told that this time would be different. A history-making First Minister. A yellow wave, demanding better. Well that early promise has evaporated. Making history doesn’t fix public services. Demanding better isn’t the same as delivering.
“We’ve seen the familiar pattern; a lazy first year, then a late rush of legislation that won’t get the scrutiny it deserves. And when deliver becomes difficult, more chaff than change, more heat than light. Big decisions kicked back into the long grass. And when delivery becomes difficult, what happens?
“Well, we know the script by now. Dissatisfaction gives way to distraction. Raking over the past instead of a focus on the future. Drumcree is the latest avatar for a politics that makes capital from reopening old wounds. Another row. Another threat. Usuns. Themuns. And the none-of-the-above-uns standing back and telling us how awful it all is. There’s big talk now about the next mandate. The next race to be top dog. Asking voters to send a message, instead of just sending a competent minister. Elections will be about anything other than taking responsibility [for what they’ve done.]
“But here’s the thing: They’re all in government. They all have Ministers. They all have power. And they’ve all had a chance and a responsibility to use it. As the excuses pile up, the time slips away. That’s another five years this place is never getting back.
“And Conference we’ve brought our new energy to a much bigger change, because Stormont ticking over has never been the limit the SDLP’s ambition. It is becoming clearer by the day that the future of this island is changing.
“Don’t just take it from me, take it from the leader of the free world! More people are talking about our constitutional future. More people are asking what a New Ireland could look like and more people who might never have considered it are prepared to listen.
“The direction of travel is clear. A New Ireland isn’t just on the table. It is on the move. And the SDLP are shaping that too. And we aren’t plucking dates for a border poll out of the air. We’re doing the work. We’re building something different, something better, and something new.
“The SDLP brought together people from different parties, traditions and perspectives to talk seriously about what change means, about the values it needs, about how we actually get there in our landmark conference in June. The echoes of our work are being heard loud and clear in new pronouncements from both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste.
“We’ve set out our vision for a New Ireland economy in our Success by Design paper. We’ve made bold choices on political structures. We’re talking about how it works. How we pay for it. How we protect rights and how we make sure this change works for everybody.
“Because the biggest question isn’t what date? The biggest question isn’t why, it’s how? And there’s another question that matters enormously, and I want to ask it today. Who?
“Who do you trust to take you there? Who do you trust to sit on your behalf at any negotiating table? Who do you trust to do the work and not just wave the flag? Who do you trust to make Dublin and London understand that preparing can no longer be put off? Who do you trust to represent not only the people who already agree with them, but every single person who lives here?
“Your nationalist neighbour. Your unionist neighbour. And your neither neighbour. Because every person here has a stake in our future. Not just the loudest voices. Not just the most certain. Everyone.
“And we haven’t just been talking; we have been listening. I know the appetite exists because I’ve seen it, because I’ve heard it. Over the last year I’ve done town hall meetings across the North. In Holywood, Lisburn, Lurgan, Cushendall, Crossmaglen, Enniskillen, Limavady.
“Some people walk through the door already convinced. Some are curious. Some are sceptical. They want to know what change is going to mean for their family, that is completely natural. They want to know more. About public services. About their pension. About their identity. About their community. They don’t want to be lectured. They want to be listened to.
“There are those in politics who’d like to move on without half the population. And there are others who would rather we didn’t move at all. Neither is good enough. The SDLP believes in moving forward, and bringing people along. A party who knows what we believe and how to get things done.
“So, conference, that is what the next election is about. It’s about choosing the people who’ll represent you for the next five years. Because five years is a long time. Especially in a world that can change in five minutes.
“I’m giving it all I’ve got because I want more SDLP representatives elected next May. I’m not shy about that, I want us to win and I know that we can do it.
“Not for power without purpose, we’ve seen enough of that from the Executive. What was the point in making history and what is the point of surging a party if it only benefits those parties and doesn’t change people’s lives?
“We’ve shown what we can do with the mandate people gave us. Now we’re asking for the strength to do more. The strength to dismantle the things that divide us. The strength to offer hope after years of decay. For a Northern Ireland that works as best it can. And serious preparation for the future that we’re bringing to life.
“That’s a future so many of us glimpsed last month when Belfast hosted the fleadh. A celebration of expression, difference and joy, which soothed many souls and fired our minds. That was culture without the baggage. It was a week that showed us that things round here have already changed for the better, and it gave us a glimpse of what could become.
“
“And Conference, I want to finish where I started. With the person doomscrolling tonight wondering what difference they could possibly make. The person who looks at our politics and thinks this isn’t for me. Come and be part of changing it. Get involved. Because things are moving whether we like it or not. And the choice we all have, is whether we watch the future happen, or we help to build it.
“As we work toward next May, my message is this. The next 5 years really matters. They can be another half decade lost to dysfunction and dither, or they can be the foundation for the rest of our lives. Conference, two years ago we had a tanker to turn. We have turned it. Now we have an election to fight. Seats to win. Communities to represent. With leadership, with purpose, with energy. Let’s make the next five years count.”
Alan Meban. Tweets as @alaninbelfast. Blogs about cinema and theatre over at Alan in Belfast. A freelancer who writes about, reports from, live-tweets and live-streams civic, academic and political events and conferences. He delivers social media training/coaching; produces podcasts and radio programmes; is a FactCheckNI director; a member of Ofcom’s Advisory Committee for Northern Ireland; and a member of the Corrymeela Community.
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