Emma Little-Pengelly
Photo: Belfast Telegraph Digital The SDLP, who saw themselves as the moral voice of many Northern Catholics, now inhabit the same political space as their erstwhile competitors, writes Pól Ó Muirí
By the standards of Catholic bishops in the North, the statement was robust. Issued at the end of October in response to the introduction of new laws on abortion and same-sex marriage, the bishops decried what had been ordained by Westminster. The changes, the bishops said, could lead “to potentially one of the most liberal and unregulated abortion regimes in the world”.
They said bluntly: “The unavoidable truth is that our locally elected representatives had the time and the power to prevent this draconian Westminster abortion legislation being introduced over the heads of local citizens but chose not to do so. It is the duty of citizens to hold their elected representatives accountable for the decisions they have made.”
That statement was echoed at the time by the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, the Right Revd Dr William Henry, who said: “It remains surprising that some parties have been willing to allow the UK Parliament to legislate for the people of Northern Ireland without consideration of the devolution settlement, and we are disappointed that the recall of the Northern Ireland Assembly today was dismissed by some as a political stunt.
“It has always been the position of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland that decisions on devolved matters, including the sensitive issues of abortion and same sex marriage should remain the responsibility of our locally elected MLAs.”
Concerns
While Church leaders raised their concerns over the nature of the new laws and the way in which they were introduced, lobby groups in favour of change have welcomed same-sex marriage as “a huge cause for celebration” and praised Westminster for “addressing these grave and systemic human rights abuses” in its abortion legislation.
A few short weeks after those statements from Church leaders, a general election has been announced to Westminster and voters and representatives have another chance to get to know each other. The electioneering has begun and it promises to be one of the most interesting campaigns fought in a long time. In the green corner, the SDLP and Sinn Féin have formed a pact that is not a pact, that is to say, they have come to an arrangement, a nod is as good as a wink, you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours, kind of settlement but have not formally said that they are co-operating.
The immediate fruits of the pact that dare not speak its name is that the SDLP have stood aside in North Belfast and given the Sinn Féin candidate and Belfast’s Lord Mayor, John Finucane, a clear run at the sitting MP, Nigel Dodds, of the DUP.
The two main unionist parties, the DUP and the UUP, are also chopping and changing constituencies in an attempt to maximise their vote
In turn, Sinn Féin have stepped aside in South Belfast which will give the SDLP’s choice, Claire Hanna, an excellent chance against Emma Little-Pengelly, the sitting MP and also a member of the DUP.
Both nationalist parties are presenting the non-pact pact as an attempt to remove pro-Brexit unionists and replace them with anti-Brexit nationalists. (Ironically, Ms Hanna had quit as the SDLP’s Brexit spokesperson over the party’s ties to Fianna Fáil.)
In a similar vein, the two main unionist parties, the DUP and the UUP, are also chopping and changing constituencies in an attempt to maximise their vote.
And that brings us to the bishops’ call to “hold their elected representatives accountable for the decisions they have made” and the Presbyterian exhortation that local politicians legislate locally. The difficulty is, of course, does the humble voter have any chance of influencing events and having their concerns, moral and other, recognised?
Political space
From a nationalist perspective, there is no longer a choice. Sinn Féin and the SDLP both now share the same pro-choice, pro same-sex marriage and anti-Brexit platform.
The SDLP who, rightly, saw themselves as the moral voice of many Northern Catholics now inhabit the same political space as their erstwhile competitors. The party which for generations was the default choice of Catholics who did not support the IRA are distinguished from Sinn Féin in only one small way – SDLP MPs will take their seats at Westminster while Sinn Féin will continue their traditional policy of not taking theirs.
The SDLP’s stance might have held more sway until both they and Sinn Féin acceded to Westminster’s legislation on changes to laws that were supposed to be a devolved matter only. What is the SDLP’s pitch to be – we will use what little influence we have to frustrate Brexit and resume our former role of scrutinising Westminster legislation on issues pertinent to Northern Ireland? What is to stop Westminster rolling over the SDLP’s concerns on issues in the future just as they did with the DUP during the summer?
Indeed on the issue of Brexit, how can nationalists argue with a straight face for special consideration on the issue? They have accepted that laws in Northern Ireland be brought into line with those in Great Britain. Why not then accept the Brexit vote, held on a UK basis?
How do you argue against the UK leaving the EU as a political unit after accepting that your own wee corner of the UK should have the same laws as England, Scotland and Wales?
Similarly, for many Protestants who vote unionist, the Westminster vote may seem farcical. For all its posturing, the DUP, who opposed abortion and same sex marriage in the local Assembly, were turned over in Westminster.
The issues were decided by politicians who have never campaigned in the North. Indeed, while two Labour MPs sponsored the changes to the laws, the British Labour Party has announced that it will not run general election candidates in Northern Ireland, saying it would be “irresponsible”. Is that democracy or diktat?
The poet Michael Hartnett in his poem, A Farewell to English, wrote about his “meagre voice” as he undertook the enormous task of abandoning poetry in English and writing verse anew in Irish.
That meagre, moral, voice is one which many voters, Catholic and Protestant, will recognise as they undertake the enormous task of trying to craft a creative voice in a political system that is deaf to their concerns.