SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood will address a panel discussion at Féile an Phobail on Tuesday, speaking on the topic – ‘How will a new Ireland accommodate the Protestant, British, Loyalist, Unionist identities?’
Commenting ahead of the event, the Foyle MLA said: “The current pace of political change across both our islands demands that all of us show leadership in engaging with the unprecedented and the uncomfortable.
“I am prepared to discuss with unionism their thinking on a changing United Kingdom – they should be prepared to speak openly with me about the future of this island.
“Unionism must be reassured that our nationalism offers no threat – it offers only a politics of persuasion.
“I passionately believe that whilst the change ahead of us may prove to be very real – it need not be very raw.
“The Unionist people of Northern Ireland will never be persuaded out of existence and we would never wish it so. For our part, my party will always advance political ecumenism ahead of political extremism.
“The job of persuasion must move on to new ground. It is not enough for Irish nationalism to gaze into what we perceive to be the emerging horizon of unity.
“The only way that horizon will ever be reached is if we first provide it with definition and detail.
“Just as the discussions to re-establish the institutions at Stormont have failed to focus on improving the economic prospects of our people, too often the discussion on the path towards a New Ireland has allowed itself to become narrow and limited by the past.
“Real equality doesn’t end with social or cultural issues; it is also about delivering economic rights and focusing on the pound in people’s pockets. That’s what delivering true social justice means and it is what any New Ireland must focus on.
“Too often nationalism and republicanism in the North has gotten that balance wrong since Stormont was established. Rates of poverty, addiction and suicide in places like West Belfast are a terrible testament to that continued failure.
“It is telling that the parties who mainly led those devolved governments for 10 years, Sinn Féin and the DUP, have been deafeningly quiet on improving the economic fortunes of our people.
“A New Ireland doesn’t mean we talk about how to reconcile our old battles – it means we actually engage in delivering this new thinking.
“A New Ireland means offering a vision and a pathway towards an island whereby the quality of all our lives improve, an island that can deliver opportunity, fairness and belonging to all of our people.”
