0:00:13 > 0:00:16We are living in perhaps some of the most severe economic times
0:00:16 > 0:00:18that we've seen for many years.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Boom followed by bust.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24The first visible signs were in the construction sector.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28The cranes came down, tens of thousands lost their jobs.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31When the wages aren't there, the money can't be spent,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35and slowly we have seen the symptoms spread to the high street.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39Shops closed as household bills came under severe strain.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43Small business, the backbone of commercial life here,
0:00:43 > 0:00:44has been broken.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47It's not over and it won't be for some time.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49The big budget cuts have yet to come.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53In these circumstances you would be right to ask for an action plan
0:00:53 > 0:00:55from your politicians.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57A recognition that times have changed.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01A demonstration that politicians will roll up their sleeves
0:01:01 > 0:01:03and fight for your future.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07But, if you have to ask for such an action plan, it's not there.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10The SDLP believes it has answers
0:01:10 > 0:01:14and they don't lie in the area of mutual deadlock.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16It was SDLP solutions that helped to resolve
0:01:16 > 0:01:19issues around 40 years of conflict here.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23The party also has ideas which can help us now,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25in the midst of terrible economic gloom.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Firstly, we believe that major efforts should be made
0:01:29 > 0:01:32to support our people, who are feeling the brunt
0:01:32 > 0:01:34of a financial crisis not of their making.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39We have proposals to do this. We want to help and we can help.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Our MLAs will fight those cuts that threaten front-line services
0:01:45 > 0:01:48and our MPs will take the fight to Westminster,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51to challenge painful reforms to the welfare system
0:01:51 > 0:01:54at a time when vulnerable people need it most.
0:01:54 > 0:01:59Secondly, we believe that we have answers that will tackle directly
0:01:59 > 0:02:01the fallout from this economic crisis,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04answers that will maximise the money government spends.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06We have already outlined
0:02:06 > 0:02:09where billions could be found from the block grant.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11We will put pressure on the parties at Stormont
0:02:11 > 0:02:15to reconfigure the budget and programme for government,
0:02:15 > 0:02:19so that politics is delivering value for money for our people
0:02:19 > 0:02:22and finances are targeted where they are needed most.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25We have identified and want to prioritise those areas
0:02:25 > 0:02:28where we know there are seeds of recovery,
0:02:28 > 0:02:30areas where we can begin to thrive
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and help return to some of the prosperity we have lost.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37There are opportunities out there in food production, in tourism,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39in renewable energy.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41We need to keep our young people at home
0:02:41 > 0:02:45by creating well-paid opportunities in high-tech industries.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49We CAN help build a new North in a new Ireland.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Let us recognise there will be a positive future beyond this crisis,
0:02:52 > 0:02:55but let's start building for it now.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59The SDLP stood resolute against violence.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03It saw beyond it and put forward a solution.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Its answer - a united people
0:03:05 > 0:03:08living in a just and prosperous new Ireland.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12While that ambition has still to be achieved, it is still the answer,
0:03:12 > 0:03:16only this time there is an economic crisis in the way.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20But the SDLP will not allow it to become a block to progress.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25That answer lies in coming up with ways to get around the blockage.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27That is what we'll deliver for you
0:03:27 > 0:03:31and that is what the SDLP is committed to doing.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34This weekend the SDLP will gather for its annual conference
0:03:34 > 0:03:39and will elect a new leader, who, along with the party membership,
0:03:39 > 0:03:41will reaffirm that commitment.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45The SDLP - creating jobs, supporting people.