Derry City Council is no further ahead with its plans to change the official name of the city after three motions on the issue were defeated at a special meeting on Monday.
At the reconvened special meeting, Sinn Féin and the unionist bloc united to block two SDLP motions while the SDLP and unionists united to defeat a Sinn Féin sponsored motion. The Mayor of Derry, Colr. Paul Fleming, who chaired the meeting, said the
proceedings reminded him of "a Marx Brothers film."
Prior to the motions being tabled, councillors were given a briefing on the Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) carried out by Council over plans to petition the Privvy Council to change the name from 'Londonderry' to 'Derry.'
SDLP Councillor Helen Quigley tabled a motion calling for the decision to go to the Privvy Council to be deferred and a working group to be set up to examine the responses from the EQIA process.
Following a recorded vote, her motion was defeated by 14 votes to 12 after Sinn Féin and the unionist aldermen voted against it.
Sinn Féin Councillor Kevin Campbell then proposed that Council proceed with the plan to go to the Privvy Council. The motion was defeated by 17 votes to ten after a recorded vote when the SDLP and unionist groups voted against it.
Colr Quigley then tried to re-move her original proposal but was told that she could not unless it was amended. She then made a new proposal to take the issue to a party leaders' meeting in an attempt to reach a compromise. Her motion was defeated with votes from Sinn Féin and the unionist bloc.
Councillor Campbell said he was "disappointed" by the SDLP's position. "It is an accepted position that the majority of people when referring to the City call it Derry. Even unionist organisations proudly bear the historic name Derry. What is the SDLP's problem with proceeding with a council policy which it has already endorsed?
"This debate has been exhaustive and I believe that it is time that decisive action is taken to restore the rightful and historic name to this City," he said.
Colr. Quigley said her party are "fully supportive" of plans to change the name of the city. "Unfortunately other parties including Sinn Féin would rather play political games and voted against this idea and a subsequent plan put forward by the SDLP for group leaders to come together to work out a possible way forward," she said.
