"The SDLP is focused on the future and very keen to be persuaders for Irish unity" Colum Eastwood MP

we've had about 18 months a very quiet conversations with people from a unionist background we've now moved that into the public phase and we're having public engagement with people from all sorts of backgrounds and people are speaking to us I think they're speaking to us in a way that they maybe wouldn't speak to others I also we also will are doing a lot an awful lot of policy work we begin to produce papers so that people can debate all of that the most important thing for me right now is to figure out what people are afraid of and worried about and what we're hearing very clearly is that people are worried about the British tradition not being accommodated and respected in a New Ireland so we have to do that work to convince them that it would be it's a long hard road but it's work that I think the sdlp is uniquely placed to do I'm not criticizing Shen Fame for this but I think it's a fact of life the chin Fein will not be able to convince too many people outside of the intellectual base and unfortunately Alliance don't have a position on this that's of course up to them but what we're talking about is whether or not we can rejoin the European Union what the all our and Health Service would look like what the economy will look like and I think young people particularly people of my generation are very grateful for the Good Friday agreement and it happened 25 years ago they're very grateful for peace what they're saying is at it is I don't know and what's next telling the dup to get out of the way at your conference at the weekend isn't going to help is it well the dup isn't unionism uh you know and I think there are a lot of unionists who are very frankly embarrassed by the way in which the U.P are carrying on the dup have put unionism in the place that they're in brexit has been the big change in terms of how people are beginning to view the future of our Island but people have to understand brexit has just been done it was finished last week the British government and the European commission are moving forward I would love to be working with the dup I've reached out the hand of friendship I don't know how many times but it always seems to be slapped away I want to work with whoever we have to work with in our substantial common interest right now to get storming back up and running to work the fix the issues in the Health Service and the economy but I'm just been very clear with people the sdlp is now totally focused on the future and very very keen to be persuaders for Irish Unity because we really believe now that what we have isn't enough and a reform storm that is important more storm is a good idea but it will never be enough to meet the needs and the Ambitions of young people across