Eastwood departs with the SDLP’s future in question. Is there room in nationalism for the ‘critical friend’?

Colum Eastwood cut a lonely figure announcing his departure as Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader on Thursday.
One of the party’s slickest media performers, he faltered for a split second when asked about the SDLP’s relevance – before launching into a potted history of its impact on the peace process and future ambitions for a “new Ireland”.
There is no doubt that in his nine years at the helm, Eastwood did much of the heavy lifting to modernise the SDLP on issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion.
Its ailing electoral fortunes – there are now fewer SDLP MPs, MLAs and councillors than a decade ago with the party relegated to fifth in the Stormont Assembly line-up – can, as he put it, be linked to the “difficult” post-Brexit fallout.
But with Sinn Féin commanding the majority vote within nationalism in the North – and both nationalist parties committed to the objective of a united Ireland – the question about the SDLP’s future hangs heavy.
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“I think the SDLP has reached their bottom and will be coming back, though they have to be content in their own skin. It’s not about overtaking Sinn Féin, it’s not about winning seats from them, it’s about being able to maintain their voice as a critical friend within nationalism for the foreseeable,” said one senior party source.
At the press conference, Eastwood repeatedly pledged his commitment towards “making the case” for a New Ireland and working on the New Ireland Commission he set up three years ago.
Insisting that he will remain as Foyle MP, there is speculation however about the direction his career will take.
His resignation comes just eight weeks after his Westminster majority was reduced from more than 17,000 to just over 4,000.
Sinn Féin election strategists are already eyeing up the Foyle seat in five years’ time and if Eastwood decides not to run, it will be a hammer blow for the party – as there is no one to replace him.
The party’s two most capable politicians, Claire Hanna (a shoo-in as Eastwood’s successor) and Matthew O’Toole (leader of the Stormont Opposition) are from the same constituency of south Belfast.
SDLP insiders say they are pinning their hopes to its Opposition status on the Assembly benches, and challenging the Stormont Executive as it is forced to make unpopular decisions amid the cost-of-living crisis and frontline cuts.
But the question persists: is there a place for a second nationalist pro-unity party that continues to haemorrhage votes to Sinn Féin?
“There has to be room for them,” insists political commentator Chris Donnelly.
“There’s a reason you don’t hear that talk in nationalism. It’s quite simply because there’s recognition across the board in Sinn Féin and SDLP, that the coalition of support that would be required to achieve the objective of Irish Unity has to be bigger than Sinn Féin.”