|
Photo Gallery
 |
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
"!00% for a United Ireland. !00% for the Good Friday Agreement."
The SDLP is 100% for a United Ireland. And we are 100% for the Good
Friday Agreement. Indeed, the SDLP is the only party in the North that
has participated in the Agreement's institutions and worked to make all
of them a success.
More than any other party, the principles of the Good Friday
Agreement are the principles championed by the SDLP for over 30 years -
power-sharing, inclusivity, equality, human rights, North/South
cooperation, East/West links. That is why we will not renegotiate the
Good Friday Agreement. We will not weaken its protections.
For the SDLP, the Agreement is a covenant of honour between two
legitimate traditions on this island. We believe that its principles
and provisions must prevail for all, regardless of the constitutional
status of Northern Ireland.
The Agreement provides for a referendum on the question of a United
Ireland. The SDLP wants to see a referendum during the lifetime of the
next Assembly and we will campaign in favour of a United Ireland.
If a majority of the people in the North vote for a United Ireland,
then there must be one. That is not just the policy of the SDLP - it is
what the Agreement provides.
Uniquely among parties in the North, the SDLP is clear that in a
United Ireland the Agreement must endure. Its institutions - such as
the Assembly and the Executive - will stand. Equally, the British Irish
structures will continue, as will the Agreement's equality guarantees
and human rights protections.
The SDLP's vision of a United Ireland is based upon equality. We
believe that the rights, protection and inclusion that nationalists
sought within Northern Ireland while it is in the United Kingdom, must
equally be guaranteed to unionists within a United Ireland.
That is right in principle - since in a United Ireland we will still
need to find a way of sharing our society as equals and that is what the
Agreement's institutions are all about. But it is also right in
practice - since we are unlikely to win a referendum on a United Ireland
unless we make clear that a vote for a United Ireland is not a vote
against the Good Friday Agreement.
The SDLP's vision of a United Ireland is not only fair and workable,
it is achievable. It gives unionists the reassurance that unity is not
about the entrapment of a new minority. It gives the South the
reassurance of stability. Above all, it gives voters the reassurance
that unity does not mean constitutional uncertainty. They will be
voting for the Agreement and for a United Ireland.
Achieving a United Ireland will require the persuasion of some
unionists and the reassurance of many others. Because of our
unblemished record of peace and partnership and our unqualified
commitment to the Agreement, only the SDLP can persuade a majority of
the North in favour of unity - just as we persuaded a majority of the
North in favour of the Good Friday Agreement. That is why only the
SDLP can deliver a United Ireland.
Environment
- Sustainable development is a central SDLP policy, which we believe,
should underpin all government decisions.
- We want to see government commit to a 3 year programme to clean up
waterways & meet Kyoto targets on carbon emissions.
- On waste management, we promote waste reduction as first priority,
followed by reuse, recycling and energy recovery as the option of last
resort.
- Fundamental reform of the planning system is required to streamline the
system and ensure balance between the needs of the community, business needs
and the need to protect the environment & wildlife.
Social Development And
Social Security
- Housing was one of the major civil rights issues that led to the
formation of the party. The SDLP is continuing to highlight the ongoing need
for publicly owned housing and a "new build role" for Housing
Executive; we want a review of the relationship between Housing Associations
and the Housing Executive.
- The SDLP is pressing the government to learn from difficulties in Dublin
and London and address housing shortages in good time, develop
affordable housing and ensure co-ordinated action on planning issues and
infrastructure development. We are working to secure adequate green-space
and recreational facilities in new developments.
- There is a clear need to streamline and simplify the benefits system
and increase the overall income guarantee for all, whether unemployed or
unable to work due to illness or disability: we must address injustice and
anomalies in the system (such as gender discrimination). Every claimant
should be allocated a named adviser once in contact with the system.
Promoting The Rural Economy
- The SDLP has been instrumental in securing "rural-proofing" of all
government policies to ensure that rural communities are not disadvantaged.
- We are working in partnership with rural communities to address the
serious difficulties presenting the agricultural industry at the moment.
- We want to see the agricultural industry re-structured, including the
introduction of pensions for farmers.
- We are working to develop all-island approaches on key policies such as
animal health.
- At Westminster and EU level we are working to gain low-incidence BSE
status and improve export opportunities for local producers.
Higher And
Further Education & Training
- The SDLP is working to address the legacy of disadvantage in
Further Education and to create parity of esteem for all types of
learning.
- While N. Ireland had a high standard of education overall, basic
skills including numeracy and literacy are a major problem and
greater support is required to address this difficulty.
- There is an urgent need for additional places at colleges and
universities to stem the “brain drain” from the North and address
skills shortages to boost the economy.
- The SDLP is committed to targeting “at risk” groups such as the
long-term unemployed and people with disabilities, to assist them to
avail of training opportunities.
- The SDLP is working to guarantee the financial independence of
all students, starting with students from families in greatest need.
Education
- The education system is a cornerstone of society: it is
a fundamental human right as well as a key driver of the
economy and a central requirement for personal development.
- We want to see a fairer funding mechanism introduced and
we support fully-funded pre-school education for all
children.
- The SDLP has campaigned since its inception for the
abolition of the 'eleven plus' and the introduction of a new
all-ability system to offer education on an inclusive basis,
guaranteeing equality of opportunity for all, respecting
choice and building parity of esteem between "academic" and
"vocational" learning.
- The party welcomed many aspects of the Report of the
Post-Primary Review ("Burns Report") including the end of
selection and improved co-operation between schools to give
children more choices, although the report does not endorse
our vision of all-ability education.
Culture
- Cultural and leisure pursuits are central elements in
our society, capable of enriching our lives, assisting
personal development and promoting debate and social
inclusion. The SDLP wishes to celebrate and preserve the
rich diversity of our cultural heritage.
- We are campaigning for the acceptance of SDLP principles
on flags and symbols: to reflect both traditions on the
island or if necessary, neither nationality or new agreed
symbols in the interim.
- We have been working to promote special recognition for
Irish language in public life and look forward to the Irish
language body playing a key role in this.
- SDLP is promoting investment to develop our cultural
industry, e.g. a tax exemption scheme for artists and
sportspersons and tax incentives to encourage private sector
contributions. We also support the development of community
arts with artistic autonomy.
Human Rights,
Justice And Equality
- Human rights and equality have been at the heart of the
conflict in the North, and a key part of SDLP strategy
throughout our existence. SDLP policy in favour of a Bill of
Rights was reflected in the AGreement and we are making the
case for the most progressive and wide-ranging protections
possible, including social and economic rights and
North-South co-operation on rights issues. Increased powers
and resources are required for the Human Rights Commission
to perform its role effectively.
- The SDLP worked to ensure that the Agreement also
contained a major new "equality duty", that would bind all
government decisions. Current priorities include the
development of a Single Equality Act to harmonise and
improve protection and ongoing work to secure a strong remit
for a Children's Commissioner. We support affirmative action
and target-setting to address differences in unemployment
rates between groups e.g. Catholics and Protestants. We are
campaigning for an overhaul of the outdated & inadequate sex
offences legislation.
- The SDLP is seeking major reform of the justice system
to place human rights at the centre, to ensure independence,
impartiality and to make the judiciary more representative
of the public it serves. We are campaigning for the
abolition of emergency laws and Diplock courts and the
withdrawal of plastic bullets. We proposed the creation of
an independent prosecutor's office, independent judicial
appointments board and a Law Reform Commission.
- While we welcomed the publication of the Criminal
Justice Bill, we expressed disappointment at the British
government's failure to meet the modest standards set out in
the Criminal Justice Review, which arose out of the
Agreement. The Party will continue to campaign to strengthen
the proposed reforms in line with the spirit of the
Agreement.
- The SDLP is working to create an impartial,
representative, accountable and community-focused police
service that can attract the support of all members of the
community. The Patten report reflected most of the SDLP's
core recommendations and through persistent work we secured
94 changes to the original legislation, which fell far short
of Patten.
- Our participation in the Police Board has already
delivered progress in terms improved accountability, the
development of a Code of Ethics and the new police badge.
Through our participation we will ensure that Patten's
proposals become a reality.
Eu And International
Affairs
The SDLP in Europe
- The SDLP is strongly committed to full participation in
the European Union
Justice
- The SDLP supports efforts at EU level to improve the
rights of workers, women, people with disabilities, senior
citizens, young people and others.
Prosperity
- The SDLP is fully supportive of the Euro and demands the
immediate introduction of the Euro in the North.
- The SDLP is committed to developing the European social
market to ensure that we can secure high-skilled jobs
through developing trade links across our continent and
beyond.
- The SDLP advocates strong support for rural communities
into the future through the Common.
Agricultural Policy
- The SDLP is working at regional and European level to
ensure that fishing communities have a sustainable resource
to secure those communities for future generations.
- The SDLP in Europe supports initiatives to protect the
environment and to encourage sustainable development.
Influence
- The SDLP is a member of the Socialist group in the
European Parliament – the second largest political group
with 179 MEPs
- SDLP membership of the Party of European Socialists
gives the people of the North a strong voice in the European
Parliament, Council of Ministers and at the Commission and
other EU institutions
- As a result of the activity of the SDLP in Europe, John
Hume has secured significant peace funding for Northern
Ireland and the border region
- In the most recent European elections 190 731 people
voted for John Hume MEP – the highest vote in the history of
the SDLP. He was elected on the first count.
Health
- The SDLP believes the health service is grossly
under-funded but that available resources must be more
efficiently used.
- We want to see a primary-care led health service with GP
fund-holding replaced by fully empowered primary health and
social care groups, bringing together all primary care
professionals and community representatives on a genuine
partnership basis to address local needs on a “bottom-up”
basis, rather than the “top-down” arrangements proposed by
the Minister, with Groups as committees of the Boards.
- We want to see the number of Boards and Trusts reduced
and savings reinvested in front-line health and social care
to address staff shortages and waiting lists.
- We are campaigning for fair access to health services
for the rural community including the retention of maternity
services for low-risk patients in local hospitals and
believe provision can be enhanced through the work of “CAWT”,
the cross-border co-operative strategy.
- Additional priorities include the implementation of the
Assembly Committee’s report on Children’s Residential Care
and the implementation of the Royal Commission report on
long-term care for the elderly.
- Abortion - At the Party's 13th annual Conference, in
1984, the SDLP adopted the following motion:
"Conference reiterates its total opposition to abortion and
in particular to the proposed extension of the British 1967
Act to Northern Ireland. Conference recognised that
there are deep-rooted social economic and personal reasons
for abortion and calls upon Executive to address itself to
such problems, especially the stigma of illegitimacy,
secondly Conference further calls upon Executive to
seriously address itself to women's issues."
Economic Development
- The SDLP places a high priority on job-creation, as a
key method of addressing poverty and social exclusion.
- We want to target the new technologies to create a
"high-skill, high wage economy" base on social justice and
sustainable development.
- We welcome increasing workers' rights legislation and
support the "social partnership" model of employment.
- We are campaigning to increase the minimum wage to 5
pounds. We also believe new investment should be targeted at
areas of high unemployment.
The SDLP supports entry
to the Single European Currency as an essential part of our
economic development strategy.
- We want to see the role of Inter-Trade Ireland
maximised: the co-operation of the economic support agencies
North and South is required to create a stronger marketing
organisation for the island and an all-Ireland investment
strategy.
|
North Antrim
Constituency Office
37 Ann Street,
BALLYCASTLE
028 207 61210
Policy Summaries
"The SDLP is 100% for a United Ireland. The SDLP is
100% for the Good Friday Agreement."
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
ENVIRONMENT
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
THE RURAL ECONOMY
HIGHER EDUCATION
EDUCATION
CULTURE
HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUALITY
EUROPE & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
HEALTH
JOB CREATION AND INVESTMENT
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT
JUSTICE AND POLICING
FINANCE & PERSONNEL
|
