SDLP to establish New Ireland Commission

Mr Eastwood said that the party’s New Ireland Commission will seek to engage with “every community, sector and generation to develop new proposals that will unite people across the island”.

The Foyle MP said: “The only path to uniting the people of this island is through the spirit of partnership, cooperation and reconciliation that the Good Friday Agreement is built on. Delivering a new Ireland demands that we all spill our sweat to forge new enduring relationships between the people of this island and that we demonstrate to everyone that there is an equal place for them.

“The SDLP’s New Ireland Commission will seek to engage with every community, sector and generation on this island to build new proposals that can generate a consensus on our future constitutional arrangements.”

Admitting this will be “challenging” but said a way forward was needed. “Leaders in the SDLP worked hard to forge a consensus for peace that would allow everyone to pursue their own constitutional ambitions free from the threat of violence. This new generation of SDLP leaders is prepared to spill our sweat again to create a path toward a united, just and reconciled new Ireland.

“We are in dialogue with significant individuals and quiet conversation with a number of communities to secure further confidence in our plans.”