Derry med school: ‘We’ll not be marched to top of the hill only to be let down again’, says Derry MP

People in this city understand that the campaign for a university in Derry isn’t a short term political goal, writes Colum Eastwood.

We have been fighting to secure a properly resourced university for more than 55 years.

When John Hume, Albert Anderson and Eddie McAteer stood on the steps of Stormont in 1965, followed by hundreds of people from Derry in a vast motorcade, it should have been clear to decision makers that this was no flash in the pan campaign.

It’s about more than an institution. People in the North West have been let down by the economic and skills policies of successive governments.

We have been forced to watch as our talented young people are starved of opportunity and have no choice but to leave their home in search of a better life.

When I became leader of the SDLP, I made a commitment to people that, under our watch, we would no longer raise our children for export. It is a promise and a priority that I will pursue everywhere I can.

That’s why, in the talks that restored devolution, we insisted that an upfront commitment to the expansion of Magee was included in the text of the agreement. It’s also why the SDLP successfully argued for money to be ring fenced as part of the deal for our medical school.

Words, without resource attached, are cheap. The people of this city know that too well.

So, when the First Ministers announced approval for the medical school this week, I was cautiously pleased. An unattractive characteristic of previous Executives was Ministers announcing projects several times only for nothing to materialise.

The A5, announced and renounced countless times but still not finished, is just one example.

I was particularly anxious to hear a guarantee from the First Ministers that enrolment will happen in September 2021, as promised.

Away from the media spotlight, an Executive Office official later confirmed that ‘further work is being undertaken to secure a sustainable outcome for the project’ - far from the guarantee that we need.

We need to demand more from our Executive and our political leaders. This city needs guarantees about investment in our future.

Fifty-five years on from Lockwood, we are not going to be marched to the top of the hill to be let down by government again.

As Derry’s MP, I will work constructively with everyone and every party interested in delivering the opportunity and investment that proper university provision will bring.

I am ambitious for our city and passionate about giving our young people the chance to study, work and build a life for themselves here. That will require the medical school as an important first step.

But the ultimate ambition must be to work in close collaboration with higher education providers in the South to deliver a university with 10,000 student places that meets the needs of people across the North West.