Veteran SDLP Councillor Fergus McQuillan will be standing down from Fermanagh Council next year.

And as he revealed the he will not be standing in Erne East at next May�s election, the Newtownbutler stalwart claims his party has become �stuck in a rut.� In a further development, Erne North SDLP Councillor, John O�Kane has spoken publically about the need for the party to be re-invigorated in the county.

He has even suggested closer links with the Ulster Unionists.

The frustrations of the two men show the SDLP in some disarray and they have gone as far as the openly criticise the party�s Assembly member, Tommy Gallagher.

In separate interviews with the Impartial Reporter,70-year-old John O�Kane believes the SDLP needs �rebuilding� in the county while 77-year-old Fergus McQuillan says the party needs new blood.

Mr. McQuillan said: �We are doing things like we are always doing them. We�re not involving enough of our supporters. Our party needs new people, more familiarity and we need to be reaching out to people. You see, you have a duty to your constituents and their needs. You need to keep working and keep serving and we aren�t doing enough of that.� �There was more camaraderie in the party 20 years ago than there is now. Back then you could go for a drink after a meeting and you could have had a bit of a chat, even with the Unionists. Now you can�t do that at all,� he added.

Mr. McQuillan also expressed his concerns at what he described as �a lack of support� shown by Assembly colleague Tommy Gallagher to local SDLP councillors in the county.

�Tommy is a hard man to get on with; he ignores you to a point. I think it�s his personality. He would have frustrated me in the past but it doesn�t annoy me any longer. I�ve voiced my concerns to him and that�s that.� John O�Kane also touched on the subject, adding: �We don�t contribute with our MLA [Tommy Gallagher] as much as we should. There would be rumblings that relationships between the councillors and our MLA aren�t as good as they once were. There is a general feeling that once MLAs go up into Stormont they become disengaged. They�re scoring points with each other and they�re issuing press releases which nobody reads by the bucket full,� said Mr O�Kane.

On the problems within the party, Mr. O�Kane who is the Chairman of the SDLP�s Council grouping said: �It would be no secret that the party in Fermanagh needs rebuilding and re-invigorated. There�s certainly room for improvement.� Mr. O�Kane says he wants to see the SDLP form closer links with the Ulster Unionist Party and its Fermanagh-based leader, Tom Elliott.

�To be credible with the public we need to have some common platform with the UUP and possibly the Alliance Party as we go into the Assembly elections. Pact is a rather unfortunate word but if the Con-Dems can work in England then there�s no reason why we can�t make that type of model work here with the UUP. The Democrats and Conservatives hate each other quite deeply but in the interests of the country they work together and present a united front. We must do that too.

�I value Tom and I think he has been grossly underestimated by the intelligentsia East of the Bann. In the Council we cooperated and worked together. While we acknowledge our different aspirations and our different senses there is more that unites us than divides us. And I believe you must reconcile Northern Ireland before you attempt at getting a United Ireland and even if that ever came along it would be an evolving process. I think working with Tom is the way forward for the SDLP,� he said.

On leader Margaret Ritchie, Mr. O�Kane said: �She wasn�t my choice for leader.� �Margaret has yet to establish herself. I think she is a better communicator than Mark Durkan. He was good on detail but sometimes bored people to death.� Mr. O�Kane also disagrees with Miss. Richie�s frequent public criticism of Sinn Fein.

�I think you must promote your own policies and John Hume was very good at that. You push your own agenda you don�t attack other parties. Dissect and demolish their policies if necessary but don�t attack them. The reality of life is that Sinn Fein is part of the furniture here now and you will have to work with them. If you only want to work with your friends then you join the local golf club, bridge club or football club. In politics you work with whomever the electoral send. In disparaging those parties you are criticising the electorate for their lack of judgment. That won�t do you any favours,� he said.

In response to the problems SDLP Vice-Chairman Fearghal McKinney says he is to come to Fermanagh to encourage a �Team SDLP� approach here.

�We need to work as a team. There is a vast amount of experience in the county and there�s no reason why we can�t work together. I think I am coming with answers and recognising the range of views. I don�t want to be critical but I think the party understands the position it finds itself in Fermanagh,� he said.

However, Assembly Member Tommy Gallagher has refuted the criticism from his colleagues.

�Yes, the organisation needs improved in places and even elsewhere in Northern Ireland the party could do more on organisation. But I don�t agree that I am out of touch with the councillors. The structure we have in Fermanagh is that we meet regularly, and I attend such meetings as an assembly member. I have to be in Belfast three days a week so it�s not possible for me to be on the spot. I�m not on the ground as much because I just can�t be,� he said.