SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood addressed the Chamber of Commerce today – setting out the challenges for business and government as we approach the triggering of Article 50.
“This series has been making the headlines over the last number of weeks – and rightly so.
“They have stood out as a thoroughly positive platform in what, at times, has been an ugly election campaign.
“There has been no talk of crocodiles or alligators here.
“Instead the tone of these events has been constructive – they have involved detailed discussion on public policy and its relationship with business and the private sector – and most importantly they have focused on the future.
“It has been exactly the type of forum – it is exactly the kind of example – that our politics can learn from and should do more of.
An apology on behalf of politics
“I would also like begin on what has probably become a slightly unusual note for a politician.
“I want to issue you all with an apology on behalf of our politics.
“The relationship between business and politics will always hold its own natural tensions.
“However, across the world – there is one thing any politician and any government worth their salt knows.
“Business needs certainty – and over the course of many years our politics has provided you with none.
“At the very moment when we most needed stability and certainty – our local government has collapsed 9 months after it promised a fresh start.
“We all know the particular issue that led to its demise.
“However, the landscape of uncertainty I’m referring to extends beyond any one issue – but it does refer particularly to economic policy.
“For instance, a corporation tax cut in Northern Ireland has been dangled in front of business for years.
“It is a policy we support but rather than a range of economic interventions – this has been the sole economic policy of the Executive.
“As you know – that sole economic policy is still to be delivered.
“This prolonged delay in delivery has meant that its impact is now substantially less significant because of the overall reductions in corporation tax by the British Treasury – with the prospect and expectation of more cuts in the tax to come.
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“The directionless drift in local government policy is made all the worse because of the seismic political events under way beyond our borders.
There is a broader canvass of uncertainty carving its way throughout western politics.
In a globalised world – no government or business is immune from these effects.
No government or business can hope to ignore them.
For the first time in several generations, economic protectionism is building support and momentum among voters.
In Europe – there is an expectation that Mario Draghi’s stimulus of buying government bonds will soon come to an end – with inevitable consequences for growth.
Deep unease remains regarding the health of the Italian banking system – and the European banking system in general has retained a nervous disposition since the financial collapse.
Add Brexit into this political and economic picture and we have a perfect storm of uncertainty and instability.
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I will return to Brexit in more detail later but let me set out what I believe to be the scale of its challenge.
I think Brexit is one of the most serious and significant event on these islands since partition.
With the triggering of Article 50 only days away, I am concerned that a level complacency has set in.
It is a complacency which either misunderstands or misinterprets the limbo period since the referendum result last June.
It is a belief which believes we have already passed through the worst of Brexit.
We have not.
I believe the full weight of Brexit’s long-term consequences will transform the prism through which we view and contend with both politics and economics for at least the next generation.
Take one example.
Will those who have celebrated the fall in the pound equally celebrate the rise in inflation that is already happening and seems sure to increase?
The impact of that inflationary cycle cannot be understated or underestimated.
Politics, business and consumers have become accustomed to low levels of inflation in our economy.
Not since the 1980’s have the politics of inflation dominated economic and financial considerations.
Double-digit rises in inflation are now a memory of the distant past.
Brexit threatens its return.
These are the kinds of challenges and conversations which lie ahead of us all.
History tells us that political shocks are – more often than not – followed by economic shocks.
Securing a Programme for Government and Budget
At this point – I am sure you are all wondering if I have anything positive to say to brighten up a cold Monday morning.
I know I haven’t started on the cheeriest of notes.
Don’t worry though – I am not setting out this context to depress you.
I am not a believer in a philosophy of despair.
Trust me – it comes with the job.
I’m the leader of the SDLP – you learn to travel more in hope than in expectation.
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I am instead setting out this landscape of uncertainty to show why it is so important that we have a devolved government that can begin to face up to – and into – all of these challenges.
To borrow the infamous phrase of the ‘Leave’ campaign – we must ‘Take Back Control’ of the powers we continue to hold.
In an uncertain economic climate we must begin to create our own certainty in Northern Ireland.
That is why I warmly welcome the 5 asks set out by the chamber ahead of the election next Thursday.
Securing a Programme for Government, securing a Budget, creating a common agenda on Brexit and investing in skills and infrastructure – is a solid platform which I’m more than happy to give endorsement to.
The Chamber’s 5 priorities are a very helpful guideline of the minimum expectation for a new government.
For the SDLP top of those priorities in the immediate term must be securing a Budget.
We were promised one in December but it never appeared.
In the weeks ahead – we cannot afford to find ourselves in a position where a civil servant is burdened with the responsibility of producing a Budget.
No civil servant will feel empowered to deliver the hard political choices that are required.
That’s not a criticism of the civil service – it is just an understanding and recognition that this is not their role in the political system.
If budgets are delivered by the permanent secretary of the Department of Finance – economic policy will be set to neutral at the very moment when we need to be mobile.
That cannot be allowed to happen.
Brexit – Retaining the four freedoms
Putting in place these basic pillars of an economic programme – such as a Budget, an Investment Strategy and a Manufacturing Strategy – are also critical stabilisers as we all face into Brexit.
During the course of this campaign, the SDLP has set out our proposals for securing special status for Northern Ireland.
Only this week I took time out of the campaign to travel to London to press this case with our sister parties across Europe.
At the heart of the SDLP proposals is the retention of the four freedoms across this island into Europe.
That means the freedom of movements, goods, services and capital.
Without even getting into the headline trade figures and their practicality – consider this.
1.85 million cars, 177,000 lorries and 208,000 light vans are recorded crossing the border each month.
They don’t all travel up and down the M1 – there are over 260 border crossings.
So when I say there can be no hard border in Ireland – it is not a statement of blind stubbornness – it is a recognition of reality.
It is the only position which is practical and achievable on this island.
It is the only pragmatic solution. It is the only possible solution.
That is why I think we need to put every possible effort into securing a deal which recognises our unique circumstances in the years ahead.
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Whilst I have the opportunity I also want to say something else on Brexit.
There is no point being amongst friends if you can’t say a few hard things.
I earlier referred to the failings of politics to provide certainty to the business community.
However, business and civic life equally has a responsibility towards politics.
During the Brexit campaign there were many of us in politics deeply disappointed with the institutional silence adopted by many in civic life in the North.
I know there were plenty of individuals from civic society who engaged in Trojan work, campaigning and speaking up for the benefits of the European Union.
Many of them were members of the chamber.
However across the board I don’t think enough was said and not enough was done institutionally to articulate the damage of Brexit.
I know it’s not easy.
I’m a leader of a political party – I understand that it is difficult to give cohesion and co-ordination to a range of views in large sectors and organisations.
However Brexit was and is an issue of such scale and importance that I think it required a united and passionate civic response – a response giving a factual outline of the economic damage it has the potential to do to this region.
I am not raising this point to rehearse and refight the referendum vote last June.
I am raising it because during this next period – when Article 50 is triggered and the negotiations proper begin – politics will urgently require the voice of business as a powerful ally in articulating our needs in the time ahead.
We will need business to strongly and institutionally speak out on behalf of this society’s future prosperity.
SDLP Manifesto
Although Brexit will naturally dominate much of the political and economic discussions and decisions ahead – we must also set out a vision for the kind of economy we wish to build into the future.
In this election campaign the SDLP has also set out a strategic economic focus for Northern Ireland.
In our manifesto we have set out a broad range of priorities for the economy.
We understand and acknowledge the restrictions of the block grant.
We understand that hard choices will have to be made in some areas in order to invest in others.
That is why it is so important that we give specific areas priority.
These priorities include,
- A twin focus on attracting Foreign Direct Investment and building robust export pathways.
- Rapidly increasing cross-border economic co-ordination.
- A commitment to investment in higher education and apprenticeships – reversing the cuts of recent budgets.
We cannot continue to rely on the one fiscal lever of corporation tax.
We cannot hope to turn around our low base of exporting if we continue to systematically export our greatest resource – our young people.
- The SDLP will seek immediate negotiations with the British Treasury to implement new City Deals in the North.
- We will consider sectoral targeting for the incubation and growth of domestic start-ups, to facilitate the growth of small and medium enterprises and to foster business clusters to increase productivity.
A balanced economy North/South and East/West
Another significant focus of the manifesto – which I have paid particular focus to as SDLP leader – is addressing regional imbalances.
In the last Assembly I successfully began the process of putting together a private member’s bill designed to bring regional economic fairness to the heart of government.
Some have accused me of developing policies that would only suit my own city of Derry – which as a candidate on Thursday, I make no apologies for.
However, my belief in regional fairness is broader than one ambition and is actually rooted in what I perceive to be evolving political and economic trends.
The former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond produced the memorable phrase that London had become Britain’s economic black star – sucking finance and people away from every other part of the country.
Such regional disparities have political as well as economic effects – as witnessed with the English regional rebellion on Brexit.
There has been some policy recognition of these problems with the roll out of the northern powerhouse along with City Deals across Britain.
Whilst it is yet to be seen whether this devolution of power and money is serious, sustained and strategic – it has at least imbedded itself in the political mainstream in Britain.
There has been a recognition that power and resource can and should be devolved outwards and downwards.
We need to aware and reactive to that trend on this island.
We should not allow a situation where Ireland’s Eastern corridor is the sole focus of economic activity.
Regional fairness is not only designed to benefit the West – it also designed to protect the East.
Pouring economic activity into small geographic areas is counter-productive.
For instance – only last month an ESRI report warned that Dublin’s economy was overheating.
The capital is once more witnessing a rent crisis – with young workers in particular suffering.
We need to avoid similar problems in the North.
Therefore in government the SDLP will develop and implement legislation to ensure co-ordinated investment across three areas:
- Job support and promotion from Invest NI;
- regional infrastructure projects;
- And education and training – targeted for areas and projects where it is required most urgently.
We will pursue a policy of regional economic fairness because it is right politically but also because it is smart economically.
Building an economy for the future
All of these SDLP proposals and policies are geared towards the future of our economy.
We know that this new age of globalisation is not in the habit of waiting.
The digitisation of our economy will form new environments and grow new jobs.
Western economies are undergoing a revolution which new technologies are dictating.
Such is the speed of change, we may not yet be able to fully imagine the jobs of the future but we must prepare for them nonetheless.
The white heat of this revolution requires an agile and innovative public sector and government.
It means escaping from a policy formation which is more focused on the electorate cycle rather than truly building for the future.
Devolved Government or Direct Rule
In mapping out all of these economic measures I am very conscious of one thing –
We can only hope to implement any of these ideas and policies if we have a local government making decisions on behalf of local people.
With only days left in this campaign, you in this room and voters across the North deserve this honesty.
It is message I will be relentlessly repeating in the final days of this campaign.
If Direct Rule is the result delivered by Sinn Féin and the DUP – it will take a long time to bring back our devolved institutions.
We know from history that bringing the institutions down is the easy part – getting them up and running again will be much more difficult.
Therefore, this election is a critical moment for power-sharing.
It is a critical moment for the retention of devolved government.
My party fought with everything we had to bring power back to Irish soil after the long years of violence.
We don’t want to give that power up – we want to retain it in the interests of all our people.
Therefore, on Thursday there is much more at stake than one election result.
Only a devolved government can deliver for business.
Only a devolved government can deliver for Northern Ireland.
Only a new partnership government will make that devolved government possible.
