‘Colum Eastwood: His ‘’Draft Resignation Letter’’’ by Donal Lavery

It would be outside my character to offer my counsel or services to members, let alone leaders, of other political parties, particularly for free. I’m a republican, and I want to see the destruction of all these pseudo-nationalist groups which have obstructed the full establishment of the Republic that was proclaimed a century ago. People who are dependent for their political existence on Britain’s occupation of Ireland’s last green field that remains unfree. But I’m prepared to waive that on this one occasion to save Colum Eastwood and his Associates the time, bother and public money, which would be involved in composing a succinct and hyperbolic Letter of Resignation for after 8^th June by doing the job for them, objectively and fully. Below you will find a kindly crafted political epitaph that is my gift to Colum, free of charge;

‘’To all SDLP Members and the People of ‘’Northern Ireland’’,

I am writing to you terminate my leadership tenure in the aftermath of what has been a truly disastrous Westminster election for the Social Democratic & Labour Party. We have lost further thousands of votes, as well as parliamentary seats, in a sea of rising republican tides that we simply could not compete with. From as early as the 2014 SDLP party conference, where a border poll on Irish unity was opposed by 50+% of delegates (and with only 54% saying they would even vote for Irish reunification), I have been faced with the dilemma of a party that does not know what it stands for in the contemporary context in which we live. We are stuck between a rock and a hard place, in trying to ascertain whether we want some limited form of social democracy within the Union or whether we are waiting around for Ireland to unite at the behest of others, so as to amalgamate with one of the established Free State parties. This is a situation which cannot persevere; the election of Jeremy Corbyn as the UK Labour Party leader shows beyond any reasonable doubt that the mass of ordinary people want leaders who strongly believe in something, regardless of whether it is left or right ideologically.

The failure of Alasdair McDonnell to reverse our decline has not been lost on me; for we are weaker now than we have ever been previously – with an even lower base of votes and seats, including in our Foyle heartland. To lose the seat of our former leader, John Hume, in the last remaining area of strong SDLP support in Ireland, is the enduring splinter piercing the heart of my political career. I was elected leader in an effort to overthrow an old party order and strike out to form a new; but the figures show that every demographic within our party remains largely unchanged – our Youth Wing is the size of just one of Sinn Fein’s local district Cumann-groups. I have failed to reign in some of our right-wing MLA’s and Councillors, who contrary to the progressive values we claim to hold, have repugnantly opposed issues the public overwhelmingly desire – like equal marriage, ex-prisoner rights and opposing the harassment of women who have abortions. In the absence of authoritative and visionary leadership, I have failed on most occasions to rise up to the challenge of changing the political weather as opposed to trying to just follow it to a destination of lucrative office, coupled with ‘’Merc’s and Perks’’. Additionally, My young disposition could not plaster over the fact that my party is ran by the Knights of Columbanus; with our representatives more or less being the Catholic Bishops in suits, posing as lefties.

It is hurtful but I must confess that my recent comments about wider proxy-use were self-defeating; deep down it did make me anxious because for the first time in the history of the North, the nationalist people are demonstrating serious hope and confidence by electing working-class people who actually represent their socio-economic interests; and I being highly moderate, fear that will hand me my P45 sooner rather than later. My initial gut-instinct then was simply ‘’how dare the masses of people vote for who they want over us bourgeois-wannabes and hopeful-overlords!’’ This wasn’t lost at the dismal party conference which elected me to the leadership, when I made fun of another party winning 2 out of the 3 seats they targeted in Donegal, when it is obvious that my party couldn’t even regain their deposit if we stood there. Critically, I don’t have the talents, vision or leadership qualities to inspire and motivate sufficient numbers of people to join us in reversing each electoral disaster we just about absorb. My youthfulness proved worthless in the absence of clear-cut policies and I have found myself going around the European Union to meet centre-left leaders within the EU Parliament over Brexit despite my party not even having one seat within it. It is hurtful to have no presence at Brussels, especially when we back all their austerity-Treaties and we stand candidates for the European and British Parliaments, but not the Irish Parliament – further substantiating the public’s suspicions about our ‘’nationalism’’.

Given my career-driven tendencies, it is highly frustrating that the closest I got to the role of Deputy First Minister was a photo-opportunity with my old colleague Seamus Mallon. Likewise, I gave people the impression that my humble Derry-roots and familiarity with John Hume would forge in me a great leader; only to discover that I certainly was no John Hume. But perhaps the worst thing to have to swallow was the realisation of ‘’British Parliamentary Democracy’’, that is – the British Government does not require the British Parliament to vote to approve their Brexit deal, they can legitimise it via executive use of the Royal Prerogative, without any of our Westminster hopefuls getting the chance to ‘’take the fight to the Tories’’, as we claimed. I fell short further when I tried to make a big fuss of Sinn Fein’s handling of the DUP RHI-fiasco, despite some of my own MLA’s clearly advocating for the scheme to remain open. Likewise, it got even lower and more desperate when I voted for the Ulster Unionist Party at the last Assembly election – the party which was in power when the British troops were sent into the Bogside to shoot dead 13 unarmed civilians; the party which historically oppressed and condemned my Derry constituency to the depths of poverty; the party who’s leaders through the ages have told employers not to have a Catholic about them. So it would be fair to say that I have a mixture of sound and original ideas when it comes to politics – the problem is, none of the sound ideas are original and none of the original ideas are sound. The destruction of our party at Westminster occurred as a result of my own narrow vanity project in refusing to accept even the most basic of pacts; coupled with an utter contempt for victims by standing against the Finucane family in North Belfast when we evidently cannot win.

Now, I feel it is time to leave you, but not in Sinatra-like euphoria. For like MacBeth, who also came to power by ‘’knifing’’ his older leader in the back, I cannot reverse my episode of power-thirst; but unlike a Shakespearean figure, I possess none of the Machiavellian wisdom or grit to have exited the stage much sooner than when the curtain falls on my collective of Yeomanry ‘intrigues’. Although what is abundantly clear to me, and I have never felt as upbeat about anything before in my life, is that when Robin Swann resigns there will be a job vacancy which it’s fair to say I would be immensely better suited to and have all the political policies/instincts to fulfil.

Yours Sincerely,

The Outgoing Leader of the SDLP’’