SDLP calls on voters to reclaim right to a government

Voters in Northern Ireland should send a message to politicians who have failed to restore powersharing at Stormont, the SDLP leader has said.

Colum Eastwood urged voters to reclaim their government by turning their backs on the politicians who have done the same to the people of Northern Ireland.

Mr Eastwood made the comments ahead of canvassing in support of local SDLP candidates on Monday where he will be joined by Fianna Fail Leader Micheal Martin.

Both leaders said local and European elections present an opportunity to support candidates who are willing to work for everyone.

Mr Eastwood said: “As the primary architects and builders of the Good Friday Agreement, the SDLP and Fianna Fail are determined to ensure that our people’s right to a government is no longer denied.

“The institutions at Stormont weren’t simply meant to secure the peace, they were also designed to deliver real economic and social progress for our people.

“Unlike in Scotland, that opportunity for a responsive and dynamic government was wasted by the DUP and Sinn Fein. Theirs is a record of incompetence, blind party interest and eventual collapse.

“Faced with Brexit and a dangerous political vacuum, our people have been denied their right to a government and an assembly.

“The public have paid the cost of their failure – it’s now time they both paid an electoral cost.”

The SDLP leader said his party, in partnership with Fianna Fail, offer a politics that will deliver on the day-to-day needs of people while building an Ireland for all.