The SDLP “championed change by democratic means” while Sinn Féin believed that “the only way to get [a united Ireland] was by bombing and shooting people”, according to new SDLP leader Colum Eastwood.


The 32-year-old Foyle MLA, who recently ousted 66-year-old Alasdair McDonnell, “is proud” of his party’s past but is “once again, determined to build a different kind of future.”


Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, the young leader criticised Sinn Féin’s tenure in the Executive alongside the DUP since 2007, saying: “We’ve had lots of nice handshakes and good photographs and people patting themselves on the back for actually being in government together but I think that people in Fermanagh or in Derry, or people suffering from floods, mightn’t think that they have delivered all that much.”


He revealed that his path towards a united Ireland will be “based on understanding that there’s a very large proportion of people on this island who see themselves as British.”


The elections in four months are not the only important issue, according to Mr. Eastwood, who is focusing on “a 10 year plan.”


The SDLP leading executive met in the Donn Carragh Hotel, Lisnaskea on Saturday, the first of a series of meetings to be held outside Belfast.

 

“Fermanagh is the first county we have come to because we believe in Richie McPhillips, we believe that Fermanagh South Tyrone needs a stronger voice in the Assembly [and that it] has been left behind by the peace dividend,” Mr. Eastwood said.


Acknowledging that the SDLP has lost out to Sinn Féin at the ballot box in this constituency over the past four years, Mr. Eastwood said that the SDLP “haven’t done things very well for a while.”


Lisnaskea insurance broker and Erne East Councillor Richie McPhillips will run for the SDLP in the Assembly election in May. Mr. Eastwood said: “If people want to see the same thing happening over and over again, they should vote for Sinn Féin. If they want to see change, a strong voice, they should vote for Richie McPhillips.”


He intends to implement a “generational shift” in the SDLP and wants to move away from “the constant negotiations and peace processing into a period of delivery.”


He hit out at Sinn Féin, saying: “The SDLP comes from a place where we were democratically championing change in Ireland and we achieved it while people in Sinn Féin were telling us that the only way to get there was by bombing and shooting people. That’s done now, thankfully they’ve caught up. I think they are a pretty unsuccessful party when it comes to actually changing the face of this country and I don’t know why anybody would buy into promises now that they are going to change anything.”


However, it is Sinn Féin that has retained the third nationalist Assembly seat in Fermanagh South Tyrone since 2011 when Tommy Gallagher lost out to Sean Lynch. 


A leaked internal SDLP  report in November 2015 said that the party will not make any electoral gains in constituencies, like Fermanagh South Tyrone, where it does not already have representation. In response, Mr. Eastwood said: “We understand that we haven’t done things very well for a while. Yes there’s a leaked report that said we will have difficulties in this forthcoming election but that’s why I ran for election as leader, because I knew we needed to change. 


“We have a 10 year plan. This isn’t all about May. But in May we are going to set out a very clear stall – we want politics to be about politics, we don’t want it to be about flag waving or the past, we  want it to be about the future, about the fact that thousands of young people in Fermanagh South Tyrone are now living in Australia. I think it’s something we should be angry about so we will be setting out well costed policies around the economy and public services. We will be offering people an opportunity to see us in government.”
In the nationalist camp, Mr. McPhillips is expected to run against Sinn Féin’s Michelle Gildernew, Sean Lynch and John Feely. His strengths, according to Mr. Eastwood, are: “He is a very strong candidate, he is a community person, he is a believer of the values of the SDLP and a strong advocate within the SDLP for this constituency.”


He continued: “Fermanagh South Tyrone needs a stronger voice in the Assembly. The roads here are a sign that there hasn’t been anywhere near enough investment in this constituency.”


Councillor John Coyle ran for the SDLP in last May’s Westminster election and was upset by twitter trolls who criticised his poor performance on the BBC Spotlight leader’s debate. Asked if the issue had damaged the SDLP’s chances in the forthcoming Assembly election, Mr. Eastwood said: “John Coyle is someone who stood for the SDLP in a very difficult election. People voted for John Coyle when we were being told we shouldn’t have even been standing. It’s not an easy thing standing for election. John Coyle has my full support.”

 

Commentators have said that Colum Eastwood is ‘greening’ the SDLP, but he said this is untrue. “The SDLP is a nationalist party. We believe in a united Ireland. I don’t just believe that I’m an Irish nationalist. I believe in actually doing the practical, hard work to achieve a united Ireland that is based on reconciliation and isn’t about waving flags or dressing up in military uniform, one that’s based on understanding that there’s a very large proportion of people on this island who see themselves as British.

2016 isn’t about forgetting that there’s a British tradition here, it’s about embracing a progressive nationalism where we understand that the best way to achieve a united Ireland is to make Northern Ireland work at the same time,” he stated.


Asked if he intends to target the more hardline Republican vote in Fermanagh, Mr. Eastwood replied: “People can be hardline if they want but I believe that the IRA’s campaign of violence actually put a united Ireland back decades. We are going to offer a positive vision for the future of Ireland.”
Mr. Eastwood intends to attend events commemorating the Battle of the Somme and the Easter Rising. 


Northern Ireland’s youngest MLA, Mr. Eastwood became the city’s youngest Mayor when he was 27 and has been a member of the SDLP since he was 17. During his leadership challenge against Alasdair McDonnell, he was supported by former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon and Pat Hume, the wife of former leader John Hume.