0:00:02 > 0:00:09This programme contains scenes of Repetitive Flashing Images
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Previously at Stormont...
0:00:21 > 0:00:23..deadlock and political stalemate.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32If Stormont was performing effectively and efficiently,
0:00:32 > 0:00:35you could forgive a lot of its failings.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37It's not. We can't even use the powers that we've got.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43There's no momentum now. Everything is static.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47Nothing's been done.
0:00:48 > 0:00:50There's no objective.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53A stand-off over welfare reform, paramilitaries
0:00:53 > 0:00:55and dealing with the past,
0:00:55 > 0:00:58brought the two leading parties to an effective standstill.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04But today we got a deal,
0:01:04 > 0:01:07yet another attempt to make power-sharing work.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13I know that there will be those from other political parties
0:01:13 > 0:01:17who will say that this is a two-party agreement.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22They say that as if it's a bad thing.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26We have attempted to reflect their comments as well as our own views
0:01:26 > 0:01:29in the agreement that has been reached.
0:01:29 > 0:01:35This agreement represents an opportunity for a new start,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38an opportunity which we must all grasp.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42This is a good day for Northern Ireland, and it marks a fresh start
0:01:42 > 0:01:45for Northern Ireland's devolved institutions.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Ten weeks in the making but only a partial deal...
0:01:51 > 0:01:54..the vexed issue of dealing with the past put on ice.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58CHEERING
0:01:58 > 0:02:02The SDLP had spent the weekend electing a new leader,
0:02:02 > 0:02:03their youngest ever.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08No party at Stormont has taken greater pride
0:02:08 > 0:02:11in the Good Friday Agreement and the institutions it created
0:02:11 > 0:02:13than the SDLP.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18But neither have any of the main parties seen such a decline
0:02:18 > 0:02:20in their share of the vote.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27Power-sharing today has got a fresh start,
0:02:27 > 0:02:32but the SDLP now fear they find themselves on the outside looking in.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38We were given 45 minutes to look at this supposed deal,
0:02:38 > 0:02:42and then we were asked to go into an executive meeting and support it.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Tonight on Spotlight, we assess how the party
0:02:46 > 0:02:50widely regarded as the architect of power-sharing,
0:02:50 > 0:02:52moved to the margins,
0:02:52 > 0:02:56and ask if their new young leader can reverse the trend.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Colum Eastwood,
0:03:13 > 0:03:1632 years old and SDLP activist
0:03:16 > 0:03:18while still a teenager.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22We've had stumbling blocks in the past and we've always got over them.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26This autumn he launched a daring bid to topple his party leader
0:03:26 > 0:03:28and seize control.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33For his supporters it was a chance to halt over a decade of decline
0:03:33 > 0:03:34for the party.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39It will take time. I have that time.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44Join with me in making this party win again. Thank you.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46APPLAUSE
0:03:46 > 0:03:48A fresh face, certainly,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53but he faced a formidable task to unseat Alasdair McDonnell,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57a man who time and again defied the odds and pulled victory
0:03:57 > 0:04:00from the jaws of predicted defeat.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03McDonnell, Alasdair -
0:04:03 > 0:04:059,560.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07CHEERING
0:04:09 > 0:04:12For the young challenger, momentum would be key.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Last Wednesday morning,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Eastwood headquarters, Londonderry.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35The leadership election was just days away and the strain was showing.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43- Hi Jennifer.- Hi, Rory. Nice to meet you.- Good to meet you.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46- How are you doing? - Rory Farrell helped run the campaign.
0:04:46 > 0:04:47So, where's Colum at the minute?
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- Colum is next-door making phone calls.- OK.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53He's been doing that for a couple of weeks now,
0:04:53 > 0:04:55so it's going to be close.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58But he's put the work in in the last load of weeks
0:04:58 > 0:05:00and he's made a lot of phone calls, and he's met a lot of people,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02and we've been travelling throughout the north,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07- and Colum...- Oh, he's here. - ..is ready to lead that change.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10- Hello, Colum.- How are things? - Nice to meet you. How are you doing?
0:05:10 > 0:05:14- How's the campaign going? - It's going well.- Yeah.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17So, is this the centre of operations for most of the phone calls?
0:05:17 > 0:05:20No, this is my constituency office.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23The challenger set out to try to sell his vision
0:05:23 > 0:05:25to the party faithful face-to-face.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29But some were refusing to meet.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33I've got more phone calls to make, lots more phone calls.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37I think we've spoken to almost everybody or we've at least tried to speak to everybody.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40We've sent literature to everybody. We've sent e-mails to everybody.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43We're just trying to ensure that the people who've said
0:05:43 > 0:05:45they're voting for us, are going to vote for us.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47We've got a big team working with us.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49It's not just me.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53Right, so you've got the Castlewellan tonight.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57You're meeting Laura King in a couple of branches in South Down.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02It's the sharp end of politics, a plot to topple the leader.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05There's a few e-mails on there that need...
0:06:05 > 0:06:08Eastwood spoke of his determination to run a positive campaign.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11But really it was a coup.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15The contenders said it was a chance to shake up the party,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18but some observers have been less than electrified.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23You never hear steel clashing on steel, you know,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25as ideas are argued out.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29What you hear is putty plopping on putty.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31It isn't going to damage anybody, is it?
0:06:31 > 0:06:35But it's not going to enlighten anybody, it's not going to...
0:06:35 > 0:06:40The SDLP arguments don't produce sparks with a chance of catching fire.
0:06:42 > 0:06:47So there'll be quite a tense party conference at the weekend, will there?
0:06:47 > 0:06:49It'll be exciting!
0:06:50 > 0:06:52It'll be tense for Colum and Alasdair
0:06:52 > 0:06:55- and their respective teams.- Yeah.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58But for the wider membership, it'll be really interesting.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01There's a lot about motions and debates,
0:07:01 > 0:07:05but there's a contest here to decide the future of the party.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07You look tense.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10I look tense? Oh, sorry.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14- LAUGHTER No!- I'm totally relaxed about it all!
0:07:15 > 0:07:18The next few days would be crucial.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22Colum Eastwood and his team, they really have been
0:07:22 > 0:07:24on the phone the whole time.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29And I suspect that they are more tense than they may be admitting to,
0:07:29 > 0:07:33because it really is a struggle and nothing is ever certain in politics.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43The leadership election opened up a debate that had been simmering
0:07:43 > 0:07:45within the party for years.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50Once the largest nationalist party,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53its vote has been in decline for over a decade.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59To some observers the reason is clear,
0:07:59 > 0:08:04the SDLP is having something of an identity crisis.
0:08:04 > 0:08:09The ideological identity of the SDLP is not entirely clear to me.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12There's some good, solid people in the SDLP...
0:08:12 > 0:08:15Of course, they've got nothing distinctive to offer anybody.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19They are not Sinn Fein, they are not associated with violence,
0:08:19 > 0:08:22they are not Unionists, so what are they? What are they?
0:08:22 > 0:08:25They're far too respectable, far too timid.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31And you know, far too uncertain of its place in Northern society.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40And there's more bad news.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47A leaked internal report recently predicted even more losses
0:08:47 > 0:08:49in the next Assembly election.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56The image persists of an ageing rock band with
0:08:56 > 0:08:58their best work behind them.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01- BONO:- We want them to join together...
0:09:03 > 0:09:04..with us...
0:09:05 > 0:09:09- ..on this stage! - CROWD ROARS
0:09:09 > 0:09:14The party enjoyed a starring role in helping to bring all sides to
0:09:14 > 0:09:19a power-sharing arrangement, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22CROWD ROARS
0:09:22 > 0:09:27Ulster Unionist party leader David Trimble and the SDLP's John Hume
0:09:27 > 0:09:30were celebrated for delivering power-sharing.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36But it was all downhill from there.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38The SDLP are at a very low ebb.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42They have lost since 1998 roughly about 90,000 votes.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Roughly a third of that has gone to Sinn Fein, and the rest,
0:09:44 > 0:09:47from what we can see from the data, are just staying at home.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51So apathy is really the SDLP's biggest problem at the moment.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56Sinn Fein has since overtaken the SDLP.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03A failure to attract a younger vote just one of the reasons for decline.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09I think once the Good Friday Agreement was agreed,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12once devolution was back up and running, it was kind of seen as job done.
0:10:12 > 0:10:13That was it.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21But the SDLP has hit a problem some say is affecting
0:10:21 > 0:10:24all parties at Stormont.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Having achieved power-sharing, what next?
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Central to the party's woes,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37the criticism that the party still labours under the shadow
0:10:37 > 0:10:40of the generation of party leaders who built peace.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48I had this taken the first election. That was 1969.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51We were married in 1960.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53(55 years ago!)
0:10:53 > 0:10:56'John Hume, who is well known in the houses that he visits.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00'He has, in effect, become the leader of the civil rights campaign in Derry.'
0:11:02 > 0:11:05Pat canvassed on the streets with her husband.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08The man who became leader, Nobel Laureate
0:11:08 > 0:11:11and driving force of the SDLP, John Hume.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17I hope the committee, as a body, has among its membership,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20people of every political persuasion.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22The chairman of...
0:11:22 > 0:11:24'He stepped down as leader in 2001.'
0:11:24 > 0:11:26The Liberal party have members...
0:11:26 > 0:11:28The Labour Party have members...
0:11:28 > 0:11:30'He still lives in Derry with Pat.'
0:11:32 > 0:11:37The legacy he created dominates the party to this day.
0:11:37 > 0:11:43And that's when they had the big sit-down, in Laburnum Terrace.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Within 20 minutes or so, a group of Saracens came along
0:11:47 > 0:11:51and the major got out and he said, "Up!"
0:11:51 > 0:11:54And John said, "No! I'm not moving."
0:11:54 > 0:11:59And with that, he just turned to the Saracen and said, "water canons".
0:12:05 > 0:12:08Hume was a member of the Catholic community, but had been
0:12:08 > 0:12:12discriminated against and largely excluded from government.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21In 1970, he and a handful of campaigners founded the
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Social, Democratic and Labour Party.
0:12:28 > 0:12:33But Northern Ireland was already sliding deeper into conflict.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37SCREAMING AND YELLING
0:12:37 > 0:12:39GUNSHOT
0:12:39 > 0:12:46I feel very sad when I look back and I think of the years
0:12:46 > 0:12:51down through the '70s, for example, during the power-sharing Executive.
0:12:51 > 0:12:57Power-sharing was in place, One Man, One Vote was in place.
0:12:57 > 0:13:02The wherewithal to gain more by nonviolence was there.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07And yet, the IRA continued violence...
0:13:07 > 0:13:09The story could have been different.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11GUNFIRE
0:13:11 > 0:13:14It was 24 years before anything else could happen.
0:13:14 > 0:13:1824 years of mayhem.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21GUNFIRE SHATTERING GLASS
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Almost all the social advances that have been made in the last 40 years
0:13:24 > 0:13:27were made in the days of the civil rights movement.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29The end of gerrymandering,
0:13:29 > 0:13:33the institution of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Legislation against the religious discrimination,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39the abolition of the B-Specials, that disarming of the RUC,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42all of those things were met by the early '70s.
0:13:42 > 0:13:44None of them was achieved,
0:13:44 > 0:13:48none of them was achieved by the armed struggle of the IRA and yet,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51and yet, at the end of the day, it is the IRA
0:13:51 > 0:13:54and its political wing which has reaped the benefit.
0:13:54 > 0:13:59# We shall overcome... #
0:13:59 > 0:14:04Central to the SDLP's problems is the view that the party has effectively
0:14:04 > 0:14:10lost ownership of an equality agenda, the fight for civil rights.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13# Oh, deep in my heart... #
0:14:13 > 0:14:15But it's a cause that has brought electoral reward
0:14:15 > 0:14:17for its rivals in Sinn Fein.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23Sinn Fein are rewriting their past.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27And that is why they've convinced quite a lot of people that they've fought...
0:14:27 > 0:14:30That the IRA fought for 30 years in the name of equality and it didn't.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34It fought for a united Ireland, it made a united Ireland impossible
0:14:34 > 0:14:36for the foreseeable future.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39And it now rewrites that in order to tell a good story.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Any political party can espouse or take late viewpoints.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50They have perhaps been more effective
0:14:50 > 0:14:52in advancing the equality agenda
0:14:52 > 0:14:54in a number of spheres, not just in the constitutional sphere
0:14:54 > 0:14:58in terms of the Irish-versus-British identity
0:14:58 > 0:15:02and constitutional issues, but also in other, what might be deemed
0:15:02 > 0:15:04progressive, "issues", in terms of the advancing
0:15:04 > 0:15:07the rights of the lesbian and gay community.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10Sinn Fein have had a more singular, progressive voice on that,
0:15:10 > 0:15:12whereas the SDLP have been somewhat confused.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22'Ivan Cooper, Chairman of the Derry Citizens' Action Committee,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25'handed in the petition and then led the campaigners across to the
0:15:25 > 0:15:29'House of Commons to give MPs their views on events in Londonderry.'
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Ivan Cooper helped found the SDLP in 1970.
0:15:38 > 0:15:44A party grandee, he looks back with regret at mistakes and missteps.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48What do you think went wrong for the SDLP
0:15:48 > 0:15:51in terms of the party's strengths?
0:15:51 > 0:15:55We seem to have drifted from leadership to leadership crisis.
0:15:57 > 0:15:58At the end of the day,
0:15:58 > 0:16:03the party failed to continue attracting new membership
0:16:03 > 0:16:07and for any political party to survive,
0:16:07 > 0:16:10it's essential that new members are attracted.
0:16:10 > 0:16:16And we simply got lazy. That was what happened, basically.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20Right, you better watch they don't put a customer through to me.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24The DUP and Sinn Fein have moved in on the middle ground to
0:16:24 > 0:16:27a fair extent so I mean...
0:16:27 > 0:16:29I mean, you know, the SDLP,
0:16:29 > 0:16:31like any other political party,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35it has to carve out its ground.
0:16:35 > 0:16:41Clearly, it can't just rest on its laurels from the past.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- She soldiered with me 45 years ago.- I did indeed.
0:16:45 > 0:16:49It's showtime at the SDLP party conference.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55And D-Day for the Eastwood challenge.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00So, members are casting their vote for the leadership election
0:17:00 > 0:17:02in a room just in here.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04We're only allowed to go this far.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07There is less than ten minutes to go.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10There's a lot of huddled conversations taking place around
0:17:10 > 0:17:14the hotel and the atmosphere, as I would describe it, is quite tense.
0:17:17 > 0:17:22Colum Eastwood's supporters are optimistic that their man will win.
0:17:22 > 0:17:23We've faced huge challenges
0:17:23 > 0:17:25and we've had a very difficult time
0:17:25 > 0:17:28and I think young Colum Eastwood
0:17:28 > 0:17:29is very courageous
0:17:29 > 0:17:33because it would be much easier to stand back and, you know,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35let things drift and then take over.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Just looking around at the conference, there's more people
0:17:40 > 0:17:45over 40 than under, so how is the SDLP going to attract younger voters?
0:17:45 > 0:17:47I have to say I do think there's a good mix
0:17:47 > 0:17:51and I'm definitely not somebody that subscribes to the cult of youth.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54We just maybe need to clear some of the blockages
0:17:54 > 0:17:57that mean that a lot of the young talent around the party
0:17:57 > 0:18:01isn't necessarily in councils and in the assembly just yet.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Despite the talk of being united,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14there's still an undercurrent of a family
0:18:14 > 0:18:16that's trying its best to get on.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22I would now like to make the announcement
0:18:22 > 0:18:25of the leader of the SDLP
0:18:25 > 0:18:28and that is Colum Eastwood.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:18:44 > 0:18:45We have to be honest.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Somewhere along the course of the road,
0:18:48 > 0:18:50our conversations have drifted.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52They've centred too much on us as a party
0:18:52 > 0:18:55and not enough on the fate and future of the country.
0:18:55 > 0:18:57That stops here and now.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Bridging the gap with Sinn Fein remains a key objective.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11It's a rivalry and an electoral threat to the SDLP
0:19:11 > 0:19:14that has its origins in the 1980s.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20The ritual clanging rang through the streets of Belfast.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Whistles and car horns were added to the clamour.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25CLANGING
0:19:25 > 0:19:291981 - a watershed year for both parties.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35GUNSHOTS
0:19:37 > 0:19:40The IRA's campaign of violence continued
0:19:40 > 0:19:45but inside the Maze Prison, a dirty protest was coming to an end
0:19:45 > 0:19:49as a number of Republican prisoners began a hunger strike.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53They had to play another card and, unfortunately,
0:19:53 > 0:19:58I hate saying this, it was the deaths of young men in prison...
0:20:00 > 0:20:01..on hunger strike.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07You had the trauma in the ground.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11Funerals. Drumbeats.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Rosaries being said on the side of the road.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20And election campaigns...
0:20:21 > 0:20:23..followed.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26And that became a very difficult period for us.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35Over that summer, ten hunger strikers had died.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39GUNSHOTS
0:20:42 > 0:20:44And the outpouring of grief
0:20:44 > 0:20:49further widened a bitter gulf between the SDLP and Sinn Fein.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57The hunger strike gave moral authority of a sort to Sinn Fein.
0:20:57 > 0:21:00Here were these people dying for what they believed in.
0:21:00 > 0:21:03They were actually dying for a united Ireland,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06they were not dying for power-sharing of Stormont.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10The SDLP, they were denounced as the stoop-down-low party and so forth.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13They were catcalled and sneered at on the streets.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17I mean I was there when that happened, regularly,
0:21:17 > 0:21:18on a regular basis.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22THEY CHANT
0:21:27 > 0:21:32They were martyrs at that time
0:21:32 > 0:21:36and there was a great deal of enmity between Sinn Fein and the SDLP.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41So some of it was not terribly well handled by us
0:21:41 > 0:21:44and it was nasty, some of that stuff.
0:21:44 > 0:21:45It was a bad mistake.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48We demonised them...
0:21:48 > 0:21:49instead of...
0:21:49 > 0:21:53The public were sympathetic towards them, we demonised them.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56That was a mistake, undoubtedly.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05Sinn Fein was now an electoral force.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07It changed the game,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09prompting Irish and British governments
0:22:09 > 0:22:11to seek new political solutions.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16I was involved at the time.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19Garret FitzGerald was very concerned
0:22:19 > 0:22:23as Taoiseach that Sinn Fein
0:22:23 > 0:22:27might overtake the SDLP electorally in the north
0:22:27 > 0:22:30while the campaign of violence was continuing
0:22:30 > 0:22:32and that they would then turn round
0:22:32 > 0:22:35and say that the IRA campaign of violence had an electoral mandate,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39at least from the nationalist community in the north.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50Despite the electoral support for Sinn Fein
0:22:50 > 0:22:52in the wake of the hunger strikes,
0:22:52 > 0:22:56it has only been since the Good Friday Agreement
0:22:56 > 0:23:00that it overtook the SDLP as the largest nationalist party.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08For some, John Hume's efforts to forge a path to peace
0:23:08 > 0:23:11came at a cost to his party.
0:23:13 > 0:23:19Do you think the SDLP were used to bring Sinn Fein
0:23:19 > 0:23:21and the IRA in from the cold?
0:23:21 > 0:23:24I think, undoubtedly, that happened.
0:23:24 > 0:23:30And when did it begin to dawn on some SDLP members that that was happening?
0:23:30 > 0:23:35It dawned on us too late because the damage had already been done.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43John Hume appeared with Gerry Adams on a televised programme
0:23:43 > 0:23:45in the United States.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52That was the moment that I knew that...
0:23:52 > 0:23:54we were being used.
0:23:57 > 0:24:03They used John to validate their own position.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06I think it was shabby.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Shabby in the extreme.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14Hume remains a hero for the SDLP for his work in negotiating a peace
0:24:14 > 0:24:18and finding agreement with unionists and republicans
0:24:18 > 0:24:23but the opinion persists that the agreement sowed the seeds
0:24:23 > 0:24:27of Sinn Fein's growth at the SDLP's expense.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31I get very tired of the Irish insistence
0:24:31 > 0:24:33on having heroes and villains all the time.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39There aren't any heroes and villains in such stark terms.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44John Hume was a brave man who stood up against violence
0:24:44 > 0:24:47and he was a very clever man
0:24:47 > 0:24:51and he did wear himself out in trying to achieve,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54for constitutional nationalists, what he thought was right for them.
0:24:57 > 0:25:02I also believe that he really handed nationalism over to Sinn Fein
0:25:02 > 0:25:07because he was so certain that he was cleverer than Gerry Adams.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11He thought he was leading Sinn Fein, he thought he was using them,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14he thought he was converting them and they used him.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17And that's why the SDLP was destroyed.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22Do you think that it's patronising to suggest that narrative?
0:25:22 > 0:25:24That it was the SDLP who brought Sinn Fein
0:25:24 > 0:25:27and the republican movement in from the cold?
0:25:27 > 0:25:29I think it's more self-pitying than patronising
0:25:29 > 0:25:32and part of the problem for the SDLP is
0:25:32 > 0:25:36if they hold on to that view, it means they are crucially failing
0:25:36 > 0:25:40to self-analyse where they have gone wrong for the past 20 years.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43They're not asking the uncomfortable questions that they need to ask
0:25:43 > 0:25:45which is how have they lost the confidence
0:25:45 > 0:25:47of the Northern nationalist community
0:25:47 > 0:25:50and what do they have to do to regain it?
0:25:53 > 0:25:55This is it, this is the agreement.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57- You have it in your hand. - I have it in my hand.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05Yes - 71.12%.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07CHEERING
0:26:07 > 0:26:10The Good Friday Agreement is considered
0:26:10 > 0:26:14a high point for the SDLP but how things have changed.
0:26:21 > 0:26:2517 years on, the sparkle has faded.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29The Agreement, and those that have followed it,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31have remained wedded to a system of government
0:26:31 > 0:26:34that ensures representation from both sides of the community.
0:26:39 > 0:26:43But others believe it has merely reinforced the sectarian divide.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51Did the Agreement, in its original form, not formalise sectarianism?
0:26:51 > 0:26:54It does, it does to an extent, there's no question of it,
0:26:54 > 0:26:56but given where we were,
0:26:56 > 0:27:01you were not going to get nationalists to agree to sit
0:27:01 > 0:27:05in a devolved administration in parliament buildings
0:27:05 > 0:27:07unless they felt confident
0:27:07 > 0:27:10that they had their hand on the steering wheel along with us.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13You've a unionist designation, you've a nationalist designation,
0:27:13 > 0:27:18and that was the way things were then and, unfortunately,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21it's the way things are now.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26But we do not have a track record of success
0:27:26 > 0:27:30to demonstrate to people that there is an alternative.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42With a deal at Stormont comes an unofficial start
0:27:42 > 0:27:44to next year's Assembly elections.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50But for all nationalist parties,
0:27:50 > 0:27:52the timing could not be more significant.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00An election beckons in the Republic too
0:28:00 > 0:28:04and it is Sinn Fein that will effectively be standing
0:28:04 > 0:28:10in all Ireland elections in 2016, the anniversary of the Easter Rising.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13There's a lesson for the SDLP today because, again,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16in terms of challenging Sinn Fein,
0:28:16 > 0:28:18it is Sinn Fein's all-Ireland stature
0:28:18 > 0:28:22that is something that the SDLP has not been able to compete with
0:28:22 > 0:28:25and that has continued to ensure that Sinn Fein remains
0:28:25 > 0:28:29far in advance of the SDLP in the minds of many Northern nationalists.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35We could be just months away from the time that Sinn Fein
0:28:35 > 0:28:40could secure a place around the cabinet table in the Dail,
0:28:40 > 0:28:44which would be a remarkable advance for, not just Sinn Fein,
0:28:44 > 0:28:47but for Northern nationalists in terms of their vision
0:28:47 > 0:28:50of being a part of the all-Ireland country.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58How close or far away we are from a united Ireland,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01if ever, is anybody's guess.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05# We Shall Overcome... #
0:29:10 > 0:29:14But once again, it is the relationship between nationalists
0:29:14 > 0:29:18and the Northern state, past present and future...
0:29:20 > 0:29:24..that will spell success or failure for not only the SDLP
0:29:24 > 0:29:27but even Stormont itself.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32Colum Eastwood.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:29:38 > 0:29:40For the SDLP,
0:29:40 > 0:29:43the party that worked for so long to establish power sharing,
0:29:43 > 0:29:47today's deal is a sign of just how far it has fallen.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Thank you.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52Thank you all very, very much.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56Negotiations to resolve our political deadlock were led by the DUP
0:29:56 > 0:30:01and Sinn Fein, the details later shared with the smaller parties,
0:30:01 > 0:30:04the SDLP included.
0:30:04 > 0:30:06..30 and more years.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09APPLAUSE
0:30:13 > 0:30:15Meanwhile, back at Stormont,
0:30:15 > 0:30:19the SDLP's former partners in government,
0:30:19 > 0:30:24the Ulster Unionist Party, have now entered opposition.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27Victims, some claim, both of the system
0:30:27 > 0:30:30and of those who were once power-sharing
0:30:30 > 0:30:35at Stormont's most trenchant critics, Sinn Fein and the DUP.
0:30:36 > 0:30:38They have come to dominate the structure
0:30:38 > 0:30:40that they didn't negotiate.
0:30:40 > 0:30:44Look at the problems in health, look at the problems in education,
0:30:44 > 0:30:46look at our problems in manufacturing,
0:30:46 > 0:30:47and what are we simply doing?
0:30:47 > 0:30:53We're still arguing the toss from 1998
0:30:53 > 0:30:56instead of focusing on those issues.
0:31:00 > 0:31:03Not so say the DUP and Sinn Fein.
0:31:03 > 0:31:07They say today's deal is literally a fresh start.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Tonight, the SDLP has told Spotlight
0:31:12 > 0:31:16they are now considering whether they can support today's deal
0:31:16 > 0:31:19but say, on first reading, it's very unlikely.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23All other parties have also expressed concerns.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29The question remains for the SDLP and power-sharing -
0:31:29 > 0:31:31what next?