Social Democratic and Labour Party

Not to be confused with Social Democratic Labour Party.

"SDLP" redirects here. For the unit within the French National Police, see Service de la protection. For the research programme, see Stanford Digital Library Project.

Social Democratic and Labour Party Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre
Leader	Colum Eastwood MLA
Deputy Leader	Nichola Mallon MLA
Chairperson	Ronan McCay
General Secretary	Gerry Cosgrove
Founder	Gerry Fitt John Hume Paddy Devlin Seamus Mallon Austin Currie
Founded	20 August 1970
Headquarters	121 Ormeau Road, Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Youth wing	SDLP Youth
Women's wing	SDLP Women's Group
LGBT wing	SDLP LGBT+
Ideology	Social democracy Irish nationalism Pro-Europeanism United Ireland
Political position	Centre-left
European affiliation	Party of European Socialists
International affiliation	Socialist International
Colours	Green, red, yellow
House of Commons (NI Seats)	3 / 18
House of Lords	0 / 804
European Parliament (NI seats)	0 / 3
NI Assembly	12 / 90
NI Local Councils	63 / 462
Website
www.sdlp.ie
Politics of Northern Ireland Political parties Elections

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; Irish: Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has three MPs in the House of Commons, and 12 MLAs in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The SDLP party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom. During the Troubles, the SDLP was the most popular Irish nationalist party in Northern Ireland, but since the Provisional IRA ceasefire in 1994, it has lost ground to the republican party Sinn Féin, which in 2001 became the more popular of the two parties for the first time. Established during the Troubles, a significant difference between the two parties was the SDLP's rejection of violence, in contrast to Sinn Féin's support for the Provisional IRA and physical force republicanism. The SDLP has fraternal links with other European social-democratic parties, including the Irish Labour Party and British Labour Party (neither of which contests elections in Northern Ireland), and is affiliated to the Socialist International and Party of European Socialists.

History

Foundation and early history

The party was founded in August 1970, when six Stormont MPs and one Senator, former members of the Republican Labour Party (a party with ties to the Irish Labour Party), the National Democratic Party (NDP, a small nationalist party that dissolved itself after the foundation of the SDLP), individual nationalists, former members of the Nationalist Party and members of the Northern Ireland Labour Party, joined to form a new party.

The SDLP initially rejected the Nationalist Party's policy of abstentionism and sought to fight for civil rights within the Stormont system. However, the SDLP quickly came to the view that Stormont was unreformable, and withdrew from parliamentary involvement.

Following the abolition of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, the SDLP emerged as the second-largest party, and the largest party representing the nationalist community, in elections to the new Northern Ireland Assembly established in 1973: the party won 19 out of 75 seats. The SDLP was one of the parties involved in the negotiations that resulted in the Sunningdale Agreement, which in turn resulted in the establishment of a power-sharing executive in January 1974. Gerry Fitt, the SDLP party leader, took office as Deputy chief executive, taking government alongside the Ulster Unionist Party (led by Brian Faulkner) and the Alliance Party. The Assembly and Executive were short-lived, however, collapsing after only four months due to sustained opposition from within the unionist community, and it was to be 25 years before the party sat in government again.

Aims

There is a debate over the intentions of the party's founders, with some now claiming that the aim was to provide a political movement to unite constitutional nationalists who opposed the paramilitary campaign of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and wished to campaign for civil rights for Catholics and a united Ireland by peaceful, constitutional means. However, others argue that, as the name implies, the emphasis was originally on creating a social-democratic party rather than a nationalist party. This debate between social democracy and nationalism was to persist for the first decade of the party's existence. Founder and first leader Gerry Fitt — a former leader of the explicitly socialist Republican Labour Party – would later claim that it was the party's decision to demand a Council of Ireland as part of the Sunningdale Agreement that signified the point at which the party adopted a clear nationalist agenda. He would later leave the party in 1979, claiming that it was no longer the party it was intended to be.

However the party itself argues that its earliest publications show they have remained consistent in their search for a way out of an impasse in Northern Ireland that satisfies nationalist desires and calms unionist fears. The SDLP were the first to advocate the so-called principle of consent — recognising that fundamental changes in Northern Ireland's constitutional status could only come with the agreement of the majority of the people of Northern Ireland. However, the SDLP has always been clear that this should not mean that anybody should have a veto on change or equality.

For most of its existence Sinn Féin ridiculed the principle of consent. However, they grudgingly agreed to it when signing up to the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The principle of consent, also widely accepted by unionists, was explicitly endorsed by a large majority of Irish people in referendums (held on the same day) that endorsed the agreement.

Whilst anxious to achieve devolved government in Northern Ireland (which the British Government had prorogued in 1972), the SDLP were also insistent on what was then known as the Irish dimension — in other words a defined constitutional role for the Republic in northern affairs. This issue led to Gerry Fitt's decision to leave in 1979. Mr Fitt had agreed to enter into talks with Humphrey Atkins, the Secretary of State, which excluded an Irish dimension but was then rebuffed by his party conference.

John Hume was an advocate of a joint authority approach where both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom would exercise political power. This was a central idea of the New Ireland Forum which brought together mainstream Irish parties in the 1980s. However, this was rejected out-of-hand by Margaret Thatcher, the Prime Minister, in a speech that became known as "out, out, out" because she dismissed every proposal of the forum by saying "that is out".

The horrified reaction of the Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald to this speech and the electoral success of Sinn Féin following the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike shocked the Thatcher Government and they were receptive to FitzGerald's lobbying on behalf of the SDLP which eventually led in 1985 to the Anglo-Irish Agreement, which was opposed by both unionists and republicans. Republicans were concerned that the agreement did not go far enough. Unionists staged a demonstration of some 200,000 people in Belfast city centre.

While the SDLP's opponents claimed the party had become "post-nationalist" (following a speech where John Hume referred to "an increasingly post-nationalist Europe") after the Good Friday Agreement, Mark Durkan has recently described the party as republican. Durkan often emphasises to unionists that the protections and constitutional mechanisms of the Good Friday Agreement would remain in the united Ireland that the SDLP seeks.

The Good Friday Agreement and return to government

The SDLP was a key player in the talks throughout the 1990s that led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. John Hume won a Nobel Peace Prize that year with Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble in recognition of their efforts.

As a result of the Agreement, elections to a new Northern Ireland Assembly were held in June 1998; the SDLP emerged as the second-largest party overall, and the largest nationalist party, with 24 out of 108 seats. The party was then returned to government later in the year when a power-sharing Executive was established for Northern Ireland. The SDLP took office alongside the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and Sinn Féin, and the SDLP's Seamus Mallon became Deputy First Minister alongside the UUP's First Minister, David Trimble.

Upon Mallon's retirement in 2001, Mark Durkan succeeded him as Deputy First Minister.

Possible merger

There had been a debate in the party on the prospects of amalgamation with Fianna Fáil, then governing party of the Republic of Ireland, while the possibility of merger with the Irish Labour Party or even Fine Gael have been speculated about by others. Little came of this speculation and former party leader, Margaret Ritchie, rejected the idea. Speaking at the 2010 Labour Party national conference in Galway she said that a merger would not happen while she was leader – "Merger with Fianna Fáil? Not on my watch." Since his election as Fianna Fáil Leader in January 2011, Micheál Martin has also repeatedly dismissed the possibility of a merger or electoral alliance with the SDLP.

Westminster Parliament

With the collapse of the Ulster Unionist Party in the 2005 UK general election and Sinn Féin's continual abstention from Westminster, the SDLP is once more the second largest parliamentary grouping from Northern Ireland at Westminster. The SDLP sees this as a major opportunity to become the voice of Irish Nationalism in Westminster and to provide effective opposition to the much enlarged Democratic Unionist Party group. The SDLP is consequently paying more attention to the Westminster Parliament and working to strengthen its ties with the Parliamentary Labour Party, whose whip they informally accept. The SDLP has been a vocal opponent at Westminster of the proposal to extend detention without trial to 42 days and previously opposed measures to extend detention to 90 days and 28 days. SDLP MP and former leader Mark Durkan recently tabled an Early Day Motion on cluster munitions which gained cross-party support and was quickly followed by a decision by the UK government to support a ban.

Proposed Dáil participation

The SDLP, along with Sinn Féin, have long sought speaking rights in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Republic's parliament. In 2005, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern leader of Fianna Fáil put forward a tentative proposal to allow MPs and MEPs from Northern Ireland to participate in debates on the region. However, it met with vociferous opposition from the Republic's main opposition parties Fine Gael and the Labour Party, and the plan was subsequently shelved. Unionists had also strongly opposed the proposal.

Remembrance Day 2010

On Remembrance Day 2010 party leader Margaret Ritchie made history by becoming the first leader of a nationalist party to wear a poppy. She attended the wreath-laying ceremony in Downpatrick. In Northern Ireland, the wearing of poppies is controversial. It is seen by many as a political symbol representing support for the British Army. Because of this, it has long been the preserve of the unionist/loyalist community. Her actions drew praise from unionists.

Leadership challenges and elections, 2011–2015

On 27 July 2011 it was reported that Margaret Ritchie faced a leadership challenge from deputy leader Patsy McGlone. The Phoenix reported that only one MLA Alex Attwood was prepared to back her and that "she will be humiliated if she puts her leadership to a vote"

Alasdair McDonnell was confirmed as Ritchie's successor after the subsequent leadership election on 5 November 2011.

Colum Eastwood challenged McDonnell and replaced him as leader in 2015.

Leadership

Colum Eastwood MLA, leader of the SDLP since 2015

Party leader

Leader	Period	Constituency
Gerry Fitt	1970–1979	MP for Belfast Dock (1962–72) MP for Belfast West (1966–83)
John Hume	1979–2001	MEP for Northern Ireland (1979–2004) MP for Foyle (1983–2005) MLA for Foyle (1998–2000)
Mark Durkan	2001–2010	MLA for Foyle (1998–2010) MP for Foyle (from 2005)
Margaret Ritchie	2010–2011	MLA for South Down (2003–12) MP for South Down (from 2010)
Alasdair McDonnell	2011–2015	MLA for Belfast South (1998–2015) MP for Belfast South (from 2005)
Colum Eastwood	2015–present	MLA for Foyle (from 2011)

Deputy leader

Leader	Period	Constituency
John Hume	1970–1979	MP for Foyle (1969–72) MEP for Northern Ireland (1979–2004) MP for Foyle (1983–2005) MLA for Foyle (1998–2000)
Seamus Mallon	1979–2001	MP for Newry and Armagh (1986–2005) MLA for Newry and Armagh (1998–2003)
Bríd Rodgers	2001–2004	MLA for Upper Bann (1998–2003)
Alasdair McDonnell	2004–2010	MLA for Belfast South (1998–2015) MP for Belfast South (from 2005)
Patsy McGlone	2010–2011	MLA for Mid-Ulster (from 2003)
Dolores Kelly	2011–2015	MLA for Upper Bann (2003–2016)
Fearghal McKinney	2015–2016	MLA for Belfast South (2013–2016)
Vacant	From 2016	N/A

Elected representatives

MPs

See also: List of Social Democratic and Labour Party MPs

MP	Constituency	Notes
Mark Durkan	Foyle	Party Leader (2001–2010) Deputy First Minister (2001–2002)
Alasdair McDonnell	Belfast South	Deputy Leader (2004–2010) Party Leader (2011–2015)
Margaret Ritchie	South Down	Party Leader (2010–2011)

MLAs

MLA	Constituency	Notes
Pat Catney	Lagan Valley	Spokesperson on Crime
Sinead Bradley	South Down	Spokesperson on Economy
Mark H. Durkan	Foyle	Spokesperson on Health
Colum Eastwood	Foyle	Party Leader (from 2015)
Claire Hanna	Belfast South	Spokesperson on Finance
Nichola Mallon	Belfast North	Spokesperson on Communities
Daniel McCrossan	West Tyrone	Spokesperson on Infrastructure
Patsy McGlone	Mid Ulster	Deputy Leader (2010–2011) Spokesperson on Economy
Colin McGrath	South Down	Spokesperson on Education
Justin McNulty	Newry and Armagh
Dolores Kelly	Upper Bann	Spokesperson on The Executice Office
John Dallat	East Derry

Electoral performance and governments

The SDLP was the largest nationalist party in Northern Ireland from the time of its foundation until the beginning of the 21st century. In 1998, it became the biggest party overall in terms of votes received, the first (as so far, only) time this had been achieved by a nationalist party. In the 2001 General Election and in the 2003 Assembly Election, Sinn Féin won more seats and votes than the SDLP for the first time.

The retirement of John Hume was followed by a period when the party started slipping electorally. In the 2004 European elections, Hume stood down and the SDLP failed to retain the seat he had held since 1979, losing to Sinn Féin.

Some see the SDLP as first and foremost a party now representing Catholic middle-class interests, with voters concentrated in rural areas and the professional classes, rather than a vehicle for Irish nationalism. The SDLP reject this argument, pointing to their strong support in Derry and their victory in South Belfast in the 2005 election. Furthermore, in the lead up to the 2005 Westminster Election, they published a document outlining their plans for a politically united Ireland. Their decline in Northern Ireland outside of two particular strongholds had led some to dub the party the "South Down and Londonderry Party"

The party claims that the 2005 Westminster elections — when they lost Newry and Armagh to Sinn Féin but Durkan comfortably held Hume's seat of Foyle whilst they also gained South Belfast with a slightly bigger share of the vote than in the 2003 assembly elections – shows that the decline caused by Sinn Féin's rejection of physical force republicanism has slowed and that their vote share demands they play a central role in any constitutional discussions. However the British Government remain focused on Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party, as the mechanisms of government outlined in the Agreement mean that it is only necessary that a majority of assembly members from each community (which these two parties currently have) agree a way forward.

The SDLP endorsed and actively supported the replacement of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, a force which many nationalists opposed, with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

In the 2009 European election the party fielded Alban Maginness as their candidate and failed to gain a seat with 78,489 first preference votes.

The party further declined in the 2011 Assembly elections. It lost two seats although it polled ahead of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) which won more seats. The decline continued in the 2016 Assembly election, as a further two seats were lost and the total number of votes received decreased.

	Party	Leader	Candidates	Seats	Change from 2007	1st Pref Votes	1st Pref %	Change from 2007	Executive seats
	SDLP	Margaret Ritchie	28	14	−2	94,286	13.9	−1.0	1

Northern Ireland Council Seats
Antrim and Newtownabbey	4 / 40
Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon	6 / 41
Belfast City	7 / 60
Causeway Coast and Glens	6 / 40
Derry and Strabane	10 / 40
Fermanagh and Omagh	8 / 40
Lisburn and Castlereagh	3 / 40
Mid and East Antrim	1 / 40
Mid-Ulster	6 / 40
Newry, Mourne and Down	14 / 41
North Down and Ards	1 / 40

Devolved Legislature elections

Election	Body	First Preference Vote	Vote %	Seats	Government
1973	09 !1973 Assembly	159,773	22.1%	19 / 78	UUP–SDLP–Alliance
1975	Constitutional Convention	156,049	23.7%	17 / 78
1982	1982 Assembly	118,891	18.8%	14 / 78
1996	Forum	160,786	21.4%	21 / 110
1998	1st Assembly	177,963	22.0%	24 / 108	UUP–SDLP–DUP–Sinn Féin
2003	2nd Assembly	117,547	17.0%	18 / 108
2007	3rd Assembly	105,164	15.2%	16 / 108	DUP–Sinn Féin–SDLP–UUP–Alliance
2011	4th Assembly	94,286	14.2%	14 / 108	DUP–Sinn Féin–UUP–SDLP–Alliance
2016	5th Assembly	83,364	12.0%	12 / 108	DUP–Sinn Féin
2017	6th Assembly	95,958	11.9%	12 / 90

Westminister elections

Election	House of Commons	Votes	Vote %	Seats	Government
1974 (Feb)	46th	160,137	0.5% (in UK)	1 / 12	Labour Party
1974 (Oct)	47th	154,193	0.6% (in UK)	1 / 12	Labour Party
1979	48th	126,325	0.4% (in UK)	1 / 12	Conservative Party
1983	49th	137,012	0.4% (in UK)	1 / 17	Conservative Party
1987	50th	154,067	0.5% (in UK)	3 / 17	Conservative Party
1992	51st	184,445	0.5% (in UK)	4 / 17	Conservative Party
1997	52nd	190,814	17.9% (in NI) 0.6% (in UK)	3 / 18	Labour Party
2001	53rd	169,865	21.0% (in NI) 0.6% (in UK)	3 / 18	Labour Party
2005	54th	125,626	17.5% (in NI) 0.5% (in UK)	3 / 18	Labour Party
2010	55th	110,970	16.5% (in NI) 0.4% (in UK)	3 / 18	Conservative Party–Liberal Democrats
2015	56th	99,809	13.9% (in NI) 0.3% (in UK)	3 / 18	Conservative Party

Local Government elections

Election	First Preference Vote	Vote %	Seats
1973	92,600	13.4%	82 / 517
1977	114,775	20.6%	113 / 526
1981	116,487	17.5%	104 / 526
1985	113,967	17.8%	102 / 565
1989	129,557	21.0%	121 / 565
1993	136,760	22.0%	127 / 582
1997	130,387	21.0%	120 / 575
2001	153,424	19.0%	117 / 582
2005	121,991	17.4%	101 / 582
2011	99,325	15.0%	87 / 583
2014	85,237	13.6%	66 / 462

European elections

Election	First Preference Vote	Vote %	Seats
1979	140,622	25.5%	1 / 3
1984	151,399	22.1%	1 / 3
1989	136,335	25.0%	1 / 3
1994	161,992	28.9%	1 / 3
1999	190,731	28.1%	1 / 3
2004	87,559	15.9%	0 / 3
2009	78,489	16.1%	0 / 3
2014	81,594	13.0%	0 / 3

See also

• Demography and politics of Northern Ireland
• Labour Party in Northern Ireland

External links

• Official website