Hume calls on electoral support for SDLP

Former SDLP leader, John Hume has called on voters to give his party their vote in next week's Assembly elections.

The Foyle MP, who was speaking at St Malachy’s College in Belfast today, said he was confident that people will give their full support to the SDLP because of the role it had played in bringing about peace and the Good Friday Agreement.

"On the 26th of November we are going back to the polls to select our political representatives," Mr Hume said. "The new MLAs will be our political decision makers, the people who will determine the future of this part of Ireland.

"People know that the SDLP has consistently delivered for the people. They have always stood solidly with us and I am confident that people will give their full support to the SDLP."

Mr Hume, who is also an MEP, also said it was imperative that Northern Ireland retained its links with Europe.

"The UUP, DUP and Sinn Fein are opposed to membership of the European Union. Where would we be in Northern Ireland without the European Union?

"The SDLP is at the centre of the European Union and is directly linked with our sister social democratic parties in Europe, which has given us great support at European level. Since many of them are in government and we meet with them regularly, we put the Northern Ireland question at the heart of the European Union.

"As a result of our influence in Europe we have secured hundreds of millions of pounds for community groups, farmers, transport infrastructure, and the development of cross border partnerships."

In a clear dig at republicans, Mr Hume said that while "others were destroying jobs through violence and therefore preventing investment," the SDLP were bringing millions of pounds of European money to build up infrastructure.

"We made sure that there would be political support at the highest level in the US for investment in jobs here. We went directly to America to seek investment and as a result we have major US companies in Northern Ireland employing thousands of people.

"There is still massive work to be done to build up our infrastructure for jobs, and that is why it is essential that we get our ministers back into a working Executive. Our unemployment levels are still much too high."

Concluding Mr Hume said he had no doubt that people would "continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with us in this election to ensure that we are central to building the new north, and the new Ireland, on their behalf".

(MB)