‘SDLP deluded and increasingly politically irrelevant’ – Murphy

Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy has said that Alasdair McDonnell’s address to the SDLP party conference highlights a party as much at odds with itself as it is with the Northern Executive.

He said the SDLP was deluded about its own position and increasingly ‘politically irrelevant’.

Speaking to Newry Times, Conor Murphy said:

“While Alasdair McDonnell’s speech was long on rhetoric it highlighted a growing rift within his own party. Mr. McDonnell has expressed his desire to get more representatives onto the Executive while only yesterday his colleague Dolores Kelly called for the SDLP to go into opposition.

“The SDLP needs to realise that it cannot have its cake and eat it. It cannot expect to claim credit for all the good work coming out of the Executive while refusing to do any of the heavy lifting.

Murphy added, “The SDLP voted against the last two budgets, in fact Mr. McDonnell hadn’t even the decency to come into the chamber to hear the debate. The party also, to its eternal discredit, voiced opposition to the devolution of policing and justice.

“What is clear is that the SDLP is increasingly deluded about its own position as it becomes increasingly irrelevant to the task of bringing about meaningful change in society.”

Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=25160

Posted by Newry Times News on Nov 12 2012. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry