SDLP leader Colum Eastwood
The Stormont Executive collapsed almost three years ago after Sinn Fein refused to sit in government anymore with the DUP.
If efforts to restore the executive are not forthcoming in the coming weeks, an Assembly election could be called in January.
Said the Foyle MLA: “There are hundreds of thousands of people in our communities waiting to see a doctor.
“Teachers are being forced to bring toilet roll and other essentials into our schools because there is no money.
“Vulnerable people face losing welfare mitigations in four months.
“Every day that parties refuse to set aside their differences and compromise in the interests of those people, they send a message that they come second.
“Today we pressed the Secretary of State to begin a not just a new process but a new kind of process.
“People have lost faith in our politics. So any new process must be time-bound, focussed and there must be a commitment that if parties do not reach a consensus, the British and Irish Governments will publish their version of a balanced a fair deal.
“People deserve to know what politicians have rejected and the narrowness of the differences that remain.
“The SDLP will do all in our power to restore the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement.
“Other parties should commit to a new kind of process as well,” added the Foyle Westminster candidate.
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