The SDLP

[Rossfan]

Their main function now seems to be as Party that Nationalists who don't like Sinn Féin can vote for.
They and the "middle ground" will be be vital in drawing up the "new Ireland".

[Angelo]

I thought Eastwood was doing a decent job, probably the best leader the SDLP have had since Hume but that said, there wouldn't be much competition. Himself Claire Hanna and O'Toole are good media performers and Nicola Mallon is a decent politician. The problem is that below that they are threadbare in political talent and sorely lack the level of grass root workers on the ground that for instance SF are able to call on.

They will have a huge role to play going forward in an unity debate arguably more than SF.

You seriously think Eastwood is doing a good job and is a good leader?

Seriously?

Yes, in the main I think he has done a good job. I know you probably don't agree but I think you might be coming at this with a preconceived prejudice.

He took over a party already in deep decline and has stood up well to elements of Unionism and loyalism in a way that previous leaders of his party failed to do. He was particularly strong in the run up to the last Westminster election and comfortably took the seat back. He is a strong media performer but his problem is always going to be the lack of depth within the party.

I'd love to hear it is that he's done.

All he seems to have in his locker is SF bashing and the actions of the SDLP in the past week are utterly shameful.

I think this might be your main issue with him. If you see the bigger picture though, it is important for nationalism that there is a strong SDLP with a different roadmap to SF. If he thinks SF needs calling out on certain issues then that is what he ought to do. I think that there is a sense that he is more in control of his own party than any other leader bar Naomi Long.

Look at unionism and how weak a leader Steve Aiken has become by almost apeing the DUP policy.

I'm still waiting for you to actually elaborate on what makes him a good leader or in anyway a good politician.

It seems to just be a completely empty statement without any substance - much like Colum and the DUP.

[Angelo]

I thought Eastwood was doing a decent job, probably the best leader the SDLP have had since Hume but that said, there wouldn't be much competition. Himself Claire Hanna and O'Toole are good media performers and Nicola Mallon is a decent politician. The problem is that below that they are threadbare in political talent and sorely lack the level of grass root workers on the ground that for instance SF are able to call on.

They will have a huge role to play going forward in an unity debate arguably more than SF.

You seriously think Eastwood is doing a good job and is a good leader?

Seriously?

Yes, in the main I think he has done a good job. I know you probably don't agree but I think you might be coming at this with a preconceived prejudice.

He took over a party already in deep decline and has stood up well to elements of Unionism and loyalism in a way that previous leaders of his party failed to do. He was particularly strong in the run up to the last Westminster election and comfortably took the seat back. He is a strong media performer but his problem is always going to be the lack of depth within the party.

I'd love to hear it is that he's done.

All he seems to have in his locker is SF bashing and the actions of the SDLP in the past week are utterly shameful.

It's a good thing you don't political party bash, otherwise you'd be a complete hypocrite

What's he done?

[Fear Bun Na Sceilpe]

I thought Eastwood was doing a decent job, probably the best leader the SDLP have had since Hume but that said, there wouldn't be much competition. Himself Claire Hanna and O'Toole are good media performers and Nicola Mallon is a decent politician. The problem is that below that they are threadbare in political talent and sorely lack the level of grass root workers on the ground that for instance SF are able to call on.

They will have a huge role to play going forward in an unity debate arguably more than SF.

You seriously think Eastwood is doing a good job and is a good leader?

Seriously?

Yes, in the main I think he has done a good job. I know you probably don't agree but I think you might be coming at this with a preconceived prejudice.

He took over a party already in deep decline and has stood up well to elements of Unionism and loyalism in a way that previous leaders of his party failed to do. He was particularly strong in the run up to the last Westminster election and comfortably took the seat back. He is a strong media performer but his problem is always going to be the lack of depth within the party.

I'd love to hear it is that he's done.

All he seems to have in his locker is SF bashing and the actions of the SDLP in the past week are utterly shameful.

It's a good thing you don't political party bash, otherwise you'd be a complete hypocrite

What's he done?

What any of them done

[Angelo]

I thought Eastwood was doing a decent job, probably the best leader the SDLP have had since Hume but that said, there wouldn't be much competition. Himself Claire Hanna and O'Toole are good media performers and Nicola Mallon is a decent politician. The problem is that below that they are threadbare in political talent and sorely lack the level of grass root workers on the ground that for instance SF are able to call on.

They will have a huge role to play going forward in an unity debate arguably more than SF.

You seriously think Eastwood is doing a good job and is a good leader?

Seriously?

Yes, in the main I think he has done a good job. I know you probably don't agree but I think you might be coming at this with a preconceived prejudice.

He took over a party already in deep decline and has stood up well to elements of Unionism and loyalism in a way that previous leaders of his party failed to do. He was particularly strong in the run up to the last Westminster election and comfortably took the seat back. He is a strong media performer but his problem is always going to be the lack of depth within the party.

I'd love to hear it is that he's done.

All he seems to have in his locker is SF bashing and the actions of the SDLP in the past week are utterly shameful.

It's a good thing you don't political party bash, otherwise you'd be a complete hypocrite

What's he done?

What any of them done

A few posters have made the contention on Eastwood being a good leader and has done well with the SDLP.

It seems to be completely empty rhetoric though.

[yellowcard]

I thought Eastwood was doing a decent job, probably the best leader the SDLP have had since Hume but that said, there wouldn't be much competition. Himself Claire Hanna and O'Toole are good media performers and Nicola Mallon is a decent politician. The problem is that below that they are threadbare in political talent and sorely lack the level of grass root workers on the ground that for instance SF are able to call on.

They will have a huge role to play going forward in an unity debate arguably more than SF.

You seriously think Eastwood is doing a good job and is a good leader?

Seriously?

Yes, in the main I think he has done a good job. I know you probably don't agree but I think you might be coming at this with a preconceived prejudice.

He took over a party already in deep decline and has stood up well to elements of Unionism and loyalism in a way that previous leaders of his party failed to do. He was particularly strong in the run up to the last Westminster election and comfortably took the seat back. He is a strong media performer but his problem is always going to be the lack of depth within the party.

I'd love to hear it is that he's done.

All he seems to have in his locker is SF bashing and the actions of the SDLP in the past week are utterly shameful.

I think this might be your main issue with him. If you see the bigger picture though, it is important for nationalism that there is a strong SDLP with a different roadmap to SF. If he thinks SF needs calling out on certain issues then that is what he ought to do. I think that there is a sense that he is more in control of his own party than any other leader bar Naomi Long.

Look at unionism and how weak a leader Steve Aiken has become by almost apeing the DUP policy.

I'm still waiting for you to actually elaborate on what makes him a good leader or in anyway a good politician.

It seems to just be a completely empty statement without any substance - much like Colum and the DUP.

I thought I'd already commented on the fact that I thought he was in control of the party, had taken the Westminster seat back from SF, been strong in the media and had called out Unionist bigotry in a consistent manner.

What exactly do you expect or want him to achieve, his role is fairly limited as an MP for a marginal party, he's not going to free Ireland.

In my opinion there are much weaker party leaders than Eastwood, maybe it's due to the fact that he isn't afraid to take a view that he sometimes rattles a few cages.

[Angelo]

I thought Eastwood was doing a decent job, probably the best leader the SDLP have had since Hume but that said, there wouldn't be much competition. Himself Claire Hanna and O'Toole are good media performers and Nicola Mallon is a decent politician. The problem is that below that they are threadbare in political talent and sorely lack the level of grass root workers on the ground that for instance SF are able to call on.

They will have a huge role to play going forward in an unity debate arguably more than SF.

You seriously think Eastwood is doing a good job and is a good leader?

Seriously?

Yes, in the main I think he has done a good job. I know you probably don't agree but I think you might be coming at this with a preconceived prejudice.

He took over a party already in deep decline and has stood up well to elements of Unionism and loyalism in a way that previous leaders of his party failed to do. He was particularly strong in the run up to the last Westminster election and comfortably took the seat back. He is a strong media performer but his problem is always going to be the lack of depth within the party.

I'd love to hear it is that he's done.

All he seems to have in his locker is SF bashing and the actions of the SDLP in the past week are utterly shameful.

I think this might be your main issue with him. If you see the bigger picture though, it is important for nationalism that there is a strong SDLP with a different roadmap to SF. If he thinks SF needs calling out on certain issues then that is what he ought to do. I think that there is a sense that he is more in control of his own party than any other leader bar Naomi Long.

Look at unionism and how weak a leader Steve Aiken has become by almost apeing the DUP policy.

I'm still waiting for you to actually elaborate on what makes him a good leader or in anyway a good politician.

It seems to just be a completely empty statement without any substance - much like Colum and the DUP.

I thought I'd already commented on the fact that I thought he was in control of the party, had taken the Westminster seat back from SF, been strong in the media and had called out Unionist bigotry in a consistent manner.

What exactly do you expect or want him to achieve, his role is fairly limited as an MP for a marginal party, he's not going to free Ireland.

In my opinion there are much weaker party leaders than Eastwood, maybe it's due to the fact that he isn't afraid to take a view that he sometimes rattles a few cages.

In control of the party?

Do you not remember the huge discontent he created with his FF stunt? The one that led to Hanne resigning her whip?

You're the one making the charges that he is a decent leader and has done a good job with the SDLP which when we get down to it, you can't even reference anything to do with it. The past week has shown that Eastwood and the SDLP offer nothing more than noise and their actions last week were shameful. Political point scoring that fanned the flames for the scenes we have seen over the weekend.

This is the same guy who campaigned on a platform of Colum in Westminister  would stop Brexit. The guy is a self-absorbed arsehole who is utterly incompetent and I find it amusing you have adamantly told us he has done a good job yet can't specify to anything positive he has contributed during his time as leader of the Stoops.

[Milltown Row2]

A self absorbed arsehole and utterly incompetent

Are you speaking about yourself or political bashing?

[Angelo]

A self absorbed arsehole and utterly incompetent

Are you speaking about yourself or political bashing?

I'm speaking about Colum Eastwood and the SDLP.

Have you anything to counter the above or are you just going to make another thread all about you and your unfunny smart ass comments?

[yellowcard]

I thought Eastwood was doing a decent job, probably the best leader the SDLP have had since Hume but that said, there wouldn't be much competition. Himself Claire Hanna and O'Toole are good media performers and Nicola Mallon is a decent politician. The problem is that below that they are threadbare in political talent and sorely lack the level of grass root workers on the ground that for instance SF are able to call on.

They will have a huge role to play going forward in an unity debate arguably more than SF.

You seriously think Eastwood is doing a good job and is a good leader?

Seriously?

Yes, in the main I think he has done a good job. I know you probably don't agree but I think you might be coming at this with a preconceived prejudice.

He took over a party already in deep decline and has stood up well to elements of Unionism and loyalism in a way that previous leaders of his party failed to do. He was particularly strong in the run up to the last Westminster election and comfortably took the seat back. He is a strong media performer but his problem is always going to be the lack of depth within the party.

I'd love to hear it is that he's done.

All he seems to have in his locker is SF bashing and the actions of the SDLP in the past week are utterly shameful.

I think this might be your main issue with him. If you see the bigger picture though, it is important for nationalism that there is a strong SDLP with a different roadmap to SF. If he thinks SF needs calling out on certain issues then that is what he ought to do. I think that there is a sense that he is more in control of his own party than any other leader bar Naomi Long.

Look at unionism and how weak a leader Steve Aiken has become by almost apeing the DUP policy.

I'm still waiting for you to actually elaborate on what makes him a good leader or in anyway a good politician.

It seems to just be a completely empty statement without any substance - much like Colum and the DUP.

I thought I'd already commented on the fact that I thought he was in control of the party, had taken the Westminster seat back from SF, been strong in the media and had called out Unionist bigotry in a consistent manner.

What exactly do you expect or want him to achieve, his role is fairly limited as an MP for a marginal party, he's not going to free Ireland.

In my opinion there are much weaker party leaders than Eastwood, maybe it's due to the fact that he isn't afraid to take a view that he sometimes rattles a few cages.

In control of the party?

Do you not remember the huge discontent he created with his FF stunt? The one that led to Hanne resigning her whip?

You're the one making the charges that he is a decent leader and has done a good job with the SDLP which when we get down to it, you can't even reference anything to do with it. The past week has shown that Eastwood and the SDLP offer nothing more than noise and their actions last week were shameful. Political point scoring that fanned the flames for the scenes we have seen over the weekend.

This is the same guy who campaigned on a platform of Colum in Westminister  would stop Brexit. The guy is a self-absorbed arsehole who is utterly incompetent and I find it amusing you have adamantly told us he has done a good job yet can't specify to anything positive he has contributed during his time as leader of the Stoops.

Ultimately it is the electorate who will decide this. You clearly don't like him or rate him, that's fine but I think you are just being blinded by party prejudice.

Yes, he hasn't covered himself in glory in the last week but his leadership has lasted much longer than one week. And yes, the alignment with FF also caused some consternation with Hanna but it seems to have been smoothed over. Every single party will have defections and falling outs at some point though, I don't think you can just throw this at Eastwoods door simply because you have a personal disliking of the man.

Of course he has made some mistakes and aligning himself with the most partitionist FF leader in history was probably one of them but on the whole I will stand by my opinion that he has done a good job overall given where they were coming from.

[Fear Bun Na Sceilpe]

I thought Eastwood was doing a decent job, probably the best leader the SDLP have had since Hume but that said, there wouldn't be much competition. Himself Claire Hanna and O'Toole are good media performers and Nicola Mallon is a decent politician. The problem is that below that they are threadbare in political talent and sorely lack the level of grass root workers on the ground that for instance SF are able to call on.

They will have a huge role to play going forward in an unity debate arguably more than SF.

You seriously think Eastwood is doing a good job and is a good leader?

Seriously?

Yes, in the main I think he has done a good job. I know you probably don't agree but I think you might be coming at this with a preconceived prejudice.

He took over a party already in deep decline and has stood up well to elements of Unionism and loyalism in a way that previous leaders of his party failed to do. He was particularly strong in the run up to the last Westminster election and comfortably took the seat back. He is a strong media performer but his problem is always going to be the lack of depth within the party.

I'd love to hear it is that he's done.

All he seems to have in his locker is SF bashing and the actions of the SDLP in the past week are utterly shameful.

I think this might be your main issue with him. If you see the bigger picture though, it is important for nationalism that there is a strong SDLP with a different roadmap to SF. If he thinks SF needs calling out on certain issues then that is what he ought to do. I think that there is a sense that he is more in control of his own party than any other leader bar Naomi Long.

Look at unionism and how weak a leader Steve Aiken has become by almost apeing the DUP policy.

I'm still waiting for you to actually elaborate on what makes him a good leader or in anyway a good politician.

It seems to just be a completely empty statement without any substance - much like Colum and the DUP.

I thought I'd already commented on the fact that I thought he was in control of the party, had taken the Westminster seat back from SF, been strong in the media and had called out Unionist bigotry in a consistent manner.

What exactly do you expect or want him to achieve, his role is fairly limited as an MP for a marginal party, he's not going to free Ireland.

In my opinion there are much weaker party leaders than Eastwood, maybe it's due to the fact that he isn't afraid to take a view that he sometimes rattles a few cages.

In control of the party?

Do you not remember the huge discontent he created with his FF stunt? The one that led to Hanne resigning her whip?

You're the one making the charges that he is a decent leader and has done a good job with the SDLP which when we get down to it, you can't even reference anything to do with it. The past week has shown that Eastwood and the SDLP offer nothing more than noise and their actions last week were shameful. Political point scoring that fanned the flames for the scenes we have seen over the weekend.

This is the same guy who campaigned on a platform of Colum in Westminister  would stop Brexit. The guy is a self-absorbed arsehole who is utterly incompetent and I find it amusing you have adamantly told us he has done a good job yet can't specify to anything positive he has contributed during his time as leader of the Stoops.

What's wrong with campaigning to stop Brexit?

[Rois]

I'd add some of his electoral decisions (not running in north Belfast, north Down) and attracting new talent like Matthew O'Toole, Sinead McLaughlin in Derry etc have strengthened the party.

[GiveItToTheShooters]

The bottom line is that SDLP and SF voters need to get serious about optimising their influence to consign DUP to history. SDLP/SF still have a sectarian voting base much like unionism. Ie very few from a Protestant tradition vote for them because they don't feel represented by them. This is because an All island solution has not been sold to "Protestants " as a reasonable alternative. Now for the first time, post Brexit, I think there could be an appetite among some Protestants to contemplate an All Island solution, but it's not being presented .
Ironically the SDLP, for whom I have a lot of respect , most of the time, have become a barrier to progress. If the greener SDLP voters moved to SF  and the softer SDLP voters aligned with Alliance , either SF or Alliance could finally knock DUP off their perch , putting aggressive unionism on the back foot for the first time.
People here on the "N/R" side and in the middle , need to get serious about consigning DUP to history . Much as I respect the SDLP, I can't see them becoming large enough to replace DUP as largest party.

It is not "sectarian" to vote for SF and not for the DUP, because SF represent you, and the DUP don't.

[Milltown Row2]

A self absorbed arsehole and utterly incompetent

Are you speaking about yourself or political bashing?

I'm speaking about Colum Eastwood and the SDLP.

Have you anything to counter the above or are you just going to make another thread all about you and your unfunny smart ass comments?

I'm just pointing out that you continually politically bash while giving off about Eastwood having a go at other political parties!

You don't see that as being stupid?

[seafoid]

A self absorbed arsehole and utterly incompetent

Are you speaking about yourself or political bashing?

I'm speaking about Colum Eastwood and the SDLP.

Have you anything to counter the above or are you just going to make another thread all about you and your unfunny smart ass comments?

I'm just pointing out that you continually politically bash while giving off about Eastwood having a go at other political parties!

You don't see that as being stupid?

That's all Angelina does. Carp at anyone who doesn't toe the line.
Zero content.