Keeping An Eye On the Czar of Russia

The question of involvement in (party) politics and whether being passive or active is interesting…..as the transition from “tinternet message board” to real life is a bit like getting your first pair of long trousers and entering into the adult world.
Alas the discovery that Politics is actually the Real World………..Education, Health, Pensions, Peace, Justice, Housing, Environment, Jobs, Third World………can be traumatic as I have discovered over the past two months.

Politics is not a Computer Game. The connexion between Message Board politics and “Real Politics” is about the same as those Computer Games (Medal of Honour?) has with actual real life soldiers in Afghanistan.
The best shoot em uppers dont make good soldiers. The best tinternet politicians would make lousy politicians. Politics on the Internet is not much different from playing Super Mario.

In 1968, a new subject “Economics & Political Studies”(EPS) was introduced into my school’s A Level programme (taught incidently by a man who would become a prominent member of the SDLPs backroom team) …soon of course replaced by simply “Politics” and just how many A levels have been awarded in forty years?
And how many Politics degrees have been handed out?
Yet we are told that membershipof political parties is in decline over the same forty years.
A cynic might say that this is because people know too much about politics. Actually it is because they know too little.
Politics as an academic discipline at QUB?.
Politics is a spectator sport watching BBC’s “Hearts and Minds”?
Politics as Journalism?
Politics as a point-scoring interactive internet game?

Yet we are told people join pressure groups. Back in 1968 the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds got an honourable mention in those EPS classes (seemingly they would be consulted on legislation affecting bird life and were a valuable part of the political process).

Yet curiously many of the 63 stallholders at the SDLP Conference were pressure groups/charities all looking after their narrow interest without actually getting involved in politics. Nobody in NICVA, Human Rights Consortium (who have a launch in the Long Gallery at Stormont next Monday) want to get “involved” in party politics. Same is true of trade unions.
All protecting a narrow interest, lifting the phone to the politicians, getting that all important “contact” on a one way street. These groups never seem to see a bigger picture. Just an occasional whinge about no “proper” politics here, which would justify their involvement. But the first number on the speed dial for trade unions, human rights groups and charities representing the disadvantaged is the SDLP. And yet these groups stay clear of Party Politics. They cant have it both ways.

The SDLPs call for engagement with its members, attracting new members or merely engaging with its own voters is frankly a double-edged sword. Existing members will here uncomfortable things from new members from the Partys “gene pool”.
Passive or Active?
A statistic I heard at the weekend. In South Armagh, Sinn Féin has ten times the number of polling clerks than the SDLP. They can work in shifts at polling staions..
Most of us live in polite society where our friends and neighbours and colleagues dont know our politics. “Whatever you say say nothing” even to the canvassers so actually being a canvasser is not something that most people can do with ease.

Essentially the trade unions, human rights groups and charities representing the disadvantaged are USING the SDLP.

But a thought occurs. It is actually the thought of Martin Niemoller.

First they came for the       communists, and I did not speak out–    because I was       not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak  out–    because I was not a socialist;
Then they  came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out–   because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out– because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me– and there was no one left to speak out for me.

And is it not true now?

They cut DLA and I did not speak out. I dont claim DLA. They made people redundant and I did not speak out. I have a job. They closed hospitals and I did not speak out. I am three miles from my hospital. They cut services to the elderly and I did not speak out. I am young. They impoverished students and I did not speak out. I know no students…….But when they come for me….I can probably rely on someone else (the SDLP) to speak up for me.

Dr Alasdair McDonnell MP & MLA for South Belfast has been elected Leader of the SDLP. I was at the Ramada Hotel for the announcement just after 5pm.
The room was packed as might be expected and many of the charity and other stall holders who had packed up came into the back of the Hall.
All day everyone had been saying “too close to call” and while this is the thing that people tend to say on this kind of occasion …it was absolutely true in this case.
The general feeling was that there were two camps and that the McGlone/McDonnell camp led the McDevitt/Attwood camp by 60:40 but all would depend on transfers. The most interesting places to be were probably in rooms set aside for the Leadership teams upstairs. I think that in the end one camp opted for McDonnell and the other camp opted for Conall McDevitt.
Last nights Hustings (see my previous post) was the last of six events. When the contest began, I feared and I am sure others did…that it could prove divisive.  Stangely the opposite happened. The longer the contest went on the greater the Unity…..although I wouldnt really want to test that theory by having an even longer contest. Of course it helped that there were no policy differences…it was a Leadership Contest and the Hustings tended to show that this was an intense seven week debate on what the SDLP is. Relief that the campaign was over?……certainly but actually a sense of greater relief that it hadn’t been a disaster but also a sense of deep satisfaction that the SDLP had learned quite a lot about itself in the past couple of months and actually liked what it had learned. It’s a very long time since the SDLP felt this good about itself.
As people tend to say on these occasions, all candidates brought something. In their own way each candidate was an inspiration. Alex Attwood Minister for the Environment, the sole Ministry the SDLP holds has Efficiency. Conall McDevitt  has youth and communication skills………and he visibly matured as the contest progressed, less brash and has probably established himself as a serious candidate next time round. Patsy McGlone (the candidate backed by me) suffered thru being the “assassin who does not get the Crown”  but in itself that was a service to the Party and Patsy can reach parts that other candidates cant.  The belief that a composite candidate made up of the best parts of each candidate would be perfect soon became a cliché and maybe the delegates just decided that Alasdair had more of these qualities than any other. He has been referred to as the “bull who brings his own china shop with him” but frankly if the “letsgetalongerist” enemies of SDLP open a china shop Id be happy to let Alasdair loose in it.
For people who actually like the SDLP, this was an excellent day. For those who have sought to disparage the SDLP it was a bad day.
Incidently the Leadership contest overshadowed an excellent presentation on Collusion by the Pat Finnucane Centre which focussed on guns used by UDR/loyalists terrorists in the Murder Triangle.

One of the first things the SDLP need to do is conduct a stock-take of sorts of the talent available to it. Its not all on the platform. A recognition of the talent within its own ranks might be the first step that the SDLP can take to listening to its OWN rather than EXTERNAL voices. It is also time that the people who need and shamelessly use the SDLP to promote human rights, workers rights, health issues, Irish language issues, pensions issues, whatever ……put up or shut up. These people cant have it both ways.
I myself joined the SDLP (after a gap of 30 years) two months ago. And I was pretty impressed by the Hustings, some of which I attended. There was something about today which reminded me of SDLPs Conference in December 1973 at the Europa Hotel. I have only blogged here about public events and commented on public events in the campaign as it was only the right thing to do.………which leads me to say that apart from tying up loose ends, I will not be blogging on Slugger O’Toole as it is no longer reasonable to so do.

I have not misused the trust of my SDLP colleagues and will not do so. The dynamic of writing a blog independently and writing as a SDLP member is completely different.

Essentially today was a reminder for those who believe , no proof is necessary and for those who dont believe, no proof is possible. It was that kind of day.

There is something about SDLP Conferences that are essentially nostalgic. John Hume, Seamus Mallon, Austin Currie, Bríd Rodgers, Frank Feely, Sean Farren, Eddie McGrady were all there. Reminders of the Partys proud Past.
Yet curiously I was reminded of the heady atmosphere of that Party Conference in 1973 the first I ever attended. Teachers like Ben Caraher, doctors such as the late Raymond McClean from Derry, solicitors such as Paschal O’Hare.
Now I am not for one minute inviting the criticism that these people are “middle class” do-gooders. There was and are plenty of ordinary working class people in the SDLP. But theres always been a degree of “Catholic” or “Christian” or now maybe post -Catholic or post- Christian values in reforming parties…..eg “chapel” culture in Labour or Liberals in England.
Besides even Sinn Féin with allegedly impeccable working class credentials take policy advice from Health, Economic and Educational professionals.

The intriguing bit for me was those charity stall workers who came into the Hall. Obviously there was a sense of “news” about to happen. But the SDLP can take a lot of heart from the prolonged applause that greeted every speech. They were caught up in the moment too.
It strikes me that in the Bar Library there must be other men and women of the calibre of Alban Magennis or Alex Attwood. It strikes me that in health centres and hospitals there are doctors of the calibre of Alasdair McDonnell. It strikes me that in the private sector there are decent guys like Conall McDevitt. And in schools and GAA clubs there are men and women of the calibre of Patsy McGlone.

To date too many are not involved. Or joining pressure groups like Platform For Change  that are actually a “cop out” because they dont like “Norn Iron” politics. “Please change Politics so that I can get involved” is not a credible stance.
The SDLP Conference responded totally to the fact that they had just witnessed four people whose hearts are in the right place…..on their sleeves.
It was really that simple.