sdlp – Page 12 – Slugger O'Toole

#SluggerReport on Stormont: “Suspect too much sweet-talk, but never close your mind.”

Mick Fealty on May 19, 2016, 12:08 pm

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Well, Slugger hears that the SDLP parliamentary meeting takes place today at 4pm, so it may be that Brian gets his wish in the timely manner he may be hoping for. We’ll really have to wait and see what precisely emerges. As Brian notes, Newton Emerson has a particularly useful piece in the Irish Times today, in which he notes: …yet suddenly Stormont is transformed. In a matter of days, opposition has gone from a potential mutation in mandatory coalition …

Integrating education would give the SDLP purpose and set the target for others to follow

Brian Walker on May 18, 2016, 9:21 pm

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So much comment about tactics and process! If they are to capitalise on a public mood for change, the SDLP like all the parties will have to concentrate on what they stand for beyond the old definitions. Reforming the education system to promote social integration and a diverse identity would be one big bold and creative approach to “making Northern Ireland work” And it’s actually in their manifesto. The SDLP appear to acknowledge that preserving the elements of the traditional …

After the election, and the SDLP’s gamble only just paid off…

Mick Fealty on May 17, 2016, 5:31 pm

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In the event, that leaked internal SDLP report which suggest five of their Assembly seats were in trouble in this election accounted for two they lost (Upper Bann and South Belfast) and one they weren’t expecting (Foyle). Swapping leaders with just six months to go left Eastwood little time to prepare for the fray. Radio silence from November till his relaunch in a second conference just before the campaign opened meant that the upgrade in his speech went barely acknowledged. And yet …

Age Profile of the New Assembly

David McCann on May 16, 2016, 11:11 pm

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The votes are in and the new MLAs have all signed the register. Some of you will remember back in late 2013, I totaled up the ages of the parties in the last Assembly. I managed this time to get the ages of 107 of the 108 MLAs which means that this should be a more accurate reading of the current age profile of the Assembly. Parties The youngest Assembly group is the Green Party with an average age of …

Nesbitt’s gamble: at last the Ulster Unionists (and the SDLP) will have to decide what they stand for or face oblivion in the next Assembly

Brian Walker on May 14, 2016, 11:15 am

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Since the election and even before it, commentators have been casting around desperately for anything that suggests that the old muscle- bound duopoly is starting to crumble. Even the DUP “victory” is being hyped as a harbinger of change alongside the Sinn Fein “ defeat”. Something, anything that might mean fresh movement or greater stability. So the zeitgeist has moved in the direction of a more “normal “ democracy that an opposition signifies, and yet an opposition that doesn’t threaten …

Martin McGuinness: “We now wait to see if SDLP will stand by the principles of the Good Friday Agreement or follow the UUP into opposition…”

Pete Baker on May 12, 2016, 8:57 pm

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The response of Sinn Féin’s new MLA for Foyle, Martin McGuinness, to being upstaged – at the moment of his re-appointment as Northern Ireland deputy First Minister – by the UUP leader Mike Nesbitt’s announcement that his party had unanimously agreed to go into official opposition in the NI Assembly, betrayed a confused, or forgetful, party lashing out at sceptics, and potential sceptics, alike. [Nobody puts Baby in the corner… – Ed] From the Sinn Féin press release [added emphasis throughout] Speaking after …

The benefits of an official Opposition and the rush to claim the title.

Kris Nixon (Belfast Barman) on May 12, 2016, 4:28 pm

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Following the 2016 Assembly Election, there is now an opposition in Stormont (or sorts). But why should a party take it, as the UUP have stepped forward to do. For the last number of years, the opposition to the executive, such as it is, has been unofficial, disparate and unruly. The naughty corner at Stormont, with John McCallister, Steven Agnew, Basil McCrea, Jim Allister, David McNarry & Claire Sugden (interestingly, 3 of those were elected to that last Assembly as …

SDLP open talks with Greens & People Before Profit

David McCann on May 12, 2016, 11:34 am

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In today’s Irish News, John Manley reports that the SDLP Leader, Colum Eastwood has opened talked with the Green Party and People Before Profit which could see the creation of a “progressive alliance” on the benches at Stormont. Manley reports; Mr Eastwood noted that the Greens and PBP did not qualify for a place in the programme for government negotiations but he said it was important “progressive parties have a strong voice in these talks”. The SDLP leader said his …

On The Doors: Review of the 2016 Assembly Election

David McCann on May 10, 2016, 9:07 pm

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For the last time, Allison Morris, John Manley and myself sat down to review the results of the 2016 Assembly Election. We talk about the performance of the various parties and what impact a greater number of female MLAs will have in the chamber. David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

Some Silver Linings in the SDLP’s Dark Clouds

David McCann on May 9, 2016, 10:37 am

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The results are in and for the SDLP again it is a story of decline as the party returns with 12 MLAs and continues to shed votes. However, there are some silver linings for the party, that even a cynic like me cannot ignore. The team is smaller, but arguably better– In past elections people would regularly point to the lack of new faces in the SDLP parliamentary party. However, this time there is a relatively fresh sense about this …

Slugger Verdict: Ranking the PEBs of #ae16

David McCann on May 3, 2016, 10:13 pm

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It is now an annual election tradition on Slugger that we get a panel together to rank the party election broadcasts of all the political parties. Our panel of broadcaster, Jim Fitzpatrick and MCE Public Relations Director, Chris Brown got together to rate each broadcast out of ten. And the winner is….. SDLP we thought was incredibly well put together, with great shots of the party leader and profiles of the candidates. There was also a consistent theme throughout and …

Sinn Féin’s partitionist approach to united Ireland referendum(s)…

Pete Baker on May 3, 2016, 4:23 pm

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… or an attempt to avoid ‘stupid’ questions about the party’s stated commitment to campaign against the fundamental principle of consent – that it is for the people of Northern Ireland to exercise their right of self-determination. Those are the options from a comparison between the commitments on Irish unity Sinn Féin presented to the people of Ireland in their manifesto for February’s General Election, and the ones presented in the slim-lined version to the people of Northern Ireland ahead of …

On The Doors: Sinn Fein Manifesto, Diver Interview & the Catholic Church

David McCann on April 30, 2016, 2:27 pm

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The next weekly instalment of On The Doors with Irish News Political Correspondent, John Manley and this week we were joined by Security Correspondent, Allison Morris. This week we talked about the Sinn Fein manifesto, Labour and the Catholic Church. David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

#AE16 #SluggerReport: SDLP, too many eggs to make a simple omelette…?

Mick Fealty on April 28, 2016, 12:43 pm

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This morning’s #SluggerReport was on the SDLP slip-up from yesterday, which shows just how hard it is: one to make a slip against Stephen Nolan; and two, get impact on budget costings where any savings that can be got out of out the block grant are marginal. It was a harsh lesson in the cracking of eggs to make – what was in the end – should have been a simple political omelette in order to highlight the deficit of …

Any SDLP revival must be true to its origins as ‘a broad church’…?

Mick Fealty on April 21, 2016, 10:24 am

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Very useful overview of where the SDLP finds itself just now from Suzanne Breen. I’d quibble over the list of places where the SDLP might be endangered, but I think she’s nailed something important here: Those critics who accuse the SDLP of betraying its traditional roots are wrong, because, from the very beginning, the party was a broad church. When founder member Austin Currie moved into southern politics in 1989 it was to join the highly conservative and pro-establishment Fine …

On The Doors: UUP & SDLP Manifestos plus the UTV Debate

David McCann on April 18, 2016, 12:33 pm

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Week Two of the On The Doors podcast with Irish News political correspondent, John Manley and former NUS-USI President, Adrianne Peltz. This week we discussed the launch of the UUP and SDLP manifestos as well as, the impact of the UTV debate. David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

Can a Unionist win in West Belfast?

David McCann on April 14, 2016, 10:41 pm

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When we think about West Belfast in this election, the focus generally goes to Gerry Carroll, Sinn Fein and the SDLP. But there is another contender for one of the final seats and that is the DUP’s Frank McCoubrey. Tonight I was invited out on the canvass with the candidate and the party’s deputy leader, Nigel Dodds. A team of 10 canvassers covered more than several hundred houses over two and half hours of pounding the streets. Before we began, …

Will SDLP support for integrated education create a new consensus?

Brian Walker on April 14, 2016, 10:24 am

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David McCann has already given his overview of the SDLP manifesto. On delivery, as is usual with these documents, the manifesto strains at being comprehensive without giving away too many hostages to fortune or burdening the reader with costings. And like all parties particularly the smaller ones, the SDLP can indulge in aspirations it knows it won’t be allowed to deliver – and may not always want to anyway. Aiming for (I make it) 26,500 new jobs by 2021, it …

SDLP launch their plan for government or a play book for opposition?

David McCann on April 13, 2016, 12:49 pm

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Two days ago the SDLP ventured West of the Bann to Dungannon for the launch of their manifesto for the 2016 Assembly election. The party was pledging a radical and ambitious plan for the next five years and this is the first opportunity that the SDLP leader, Colum Eastwood has to stamp his policy direction on the party. The full 49 page document is available here for you to read, but here are some of the key bits I found …

SDLP’s manifesto hits opponents with actual social policy 48 hours before UTV Debate…

Mick Fealty on April 12, 2016, 7:24 am

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I’ll leave the rest of the manifesto details to others on the team, but it is worth noting that the SDLP’s launch was much crisper and clearer than normal. This time, by contrast with past documents, the clarity of just one or two points got serious media cut through. They clearly loved the Good Start proposal: an old IPPR policy brought in by New Labour as a softener for the introduction of university fees. £250 may not sound like much …