By Jack McArdle Year 13

A Brief History The SDLP was born out of the civil rights movement in August 1970 by 6 Stormont MPs and one senator John Hume had strong links with the civil rights movement and had assisted to establish the party John Hume later went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998 and has been dubbed Ireland’s peace maker The core value of the party in all of its 40 years and counting is to never use violence, in their own words “not only is it morally wrong, but politically corrupting”

SDLP’s Vision “Join us in our Vision: A Better Way to a Better Ireland” This is the motto the SDLP use for their vision, which includes many well thought-laid out plans: Working for an Ireland free from poverty, prejudice and injustice A vibrant country filled with energy, enterprise and endeavour Economic opportunity for all The SDLP wants to build an Ireland where conflict, violence and sectarianism become faded memories

Current Positions The SDLP currently is standing with: 14 MLAs 3 MPs 9 Assembly Candidates And 7 councillors The leader of the party was Alasdair McDonnell who has now been replaced with Colum Eastwood

Leading up to 1998 Like the UUP, the SDLP were dominant They maintained the biggest Nationalist voice in NI They had 1 in 4 votes, and had 3 MPs The SDLP played the biggest role in Northern Ireland in leading up to the Good Friday Agreement with the help of their strong charismatic leader John Hume They worked the hardest to achieve the peace process

Post 1998 Decline Despite their huge success in achieving the Good Friday Agreement, during 2001 the SDLP suffered and still suffering a steady decline Several factors are to blame for the decline: Loss of leadership – after John Hume retiring he was replaced by a number of professionals but under achieving successors. E.g. Mark Durkan and Margaret Ritchie Tactical Mistake – By bringing Sinn Féin into the political arena, they had not realised the brought their biggest and most devastating political rivals Polarisation of Vote – After the 1998 agreement when hard line DUP became increasing popular led to an increase of Nationalist hard line Sinn Féin

4. SF Radical Policies - The Sinn Féin quickly were seen to be more radical than the SDLP. Since the SDLP met most of its goals during the GFA, they struggled to keep up with the Sinn Féin First Assembly Failure – The failure of the first assembly damaged the SDLP’s reputation and from its dominant position it began to fall SF Moderation – The party became more noticeably moderated and more and more nationalists who wouldn’t have voted for them began to see it as a legitimate party. The biggest improvement was Martin McGuinness’ transformation into an effective Deputy First Minister Centre-Left Contenders – Sinn Féin gradually shifted to the same political ground as the SDLP, making it hard for the SDLP to contend Poor Decisions - Some decisions that the SDLP have taken have seemed to be poor, e.g. their appointment of lacking leaders fails to inspire Poor Policies – Many people criticise the SDLP on their stance on austerity, despite being linked to the British Labour Party, they signed up to implement the Welfare Reform Act

The 3 Ms It is said that the 3 main reasons that the SDLP is in declines is down the 3 Ms. Too male – In terms of image, it is seen to be too male, it’s failing to be relevant. Despite the party having a previous female leader, it’s the males who seem to be dominant Middle Class - Sinn Fein have its roots in working class politics. Despite being a socialist party, the SDLP have always had a core middle class of support that have followed it from the early days. Middle Aged – Sinn Féin has always been more involved with the youth, which is why the SDLP has to step up their game

The Good Friday Agreement John Hume was criticised by all sections of N.I, including his own party for trying to bring Sinn Féin into the peace process. Because Sinn Féin were viewed as radicals and having ties with the IRA. Especially after the Enniskillen Poppy Day bomb. However steadily it began to pay off as SF and the IRA began to move towards peace. These negotiations would result in the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. John Hume was praised around the world and won the Nobel Peace Prize (jointly with David Trimble).