The beginning of any election campaign is usually flooded with parties desperately trying to frame the political context to suit their own needs. At least this time everyone has been spared from that scramble.
This snap election needs no framing – it is about Brexit.
It is about opposing the establishment of a hard border in Ireland. It is about protecting the interests of business through access to the single market and it is about resisting the stripping away of workers’ rights which the Tory vision of Brexit would bring.
The SDLP has been doing everything in our power to represent the majority of people here, nationalists and unionists alike, who voted against the imposition of this future.
We were the only party to officially campaign against it in the North. We were the only party from the North to vote against the triggering of Article 50 at Westminster and as party leader I have travelled and worked across these islands and with our sister parties in Europe to defend our place in the European Union.
However we understand that the scale of the Brexit challenge is bigger than any one individual party and therefore no one political party can hope to fight it in isolation. The new political context may mean fighting this election on new terms.
As a region which voted by 56 per cent to remain, it can’t serve our interests to send a majority of pro-Brexit MPs to Westminster. These MPs would only help to give the British Prime Minister a freer hand to implement a hard Brexit in Ireland.
That is why I have this week extended an invitation to parties who oppose a hard Brexit to explore if there are grounds for co-operation to ensure that the pro-remain majority of Northern Ireland is reflected in this election.
I have already held discussions with the leader of the Green party and the leader of Sinn Féin. I would genuinely urge the Alliance party to reconsider their stated opposition to any discussions.
My invitation is equally open to the many individual unionists who oppose the hard right, hard Brexit proposed by Theresa May. The common interest of this anti-Brexit cause even reaches right into the heart of the DUP, with the dogs on the street knowing that the former Finance Minister Simon Hamilton had the sense to vote remain.
Alongside these discussions, and perhaps more importantly, I will equally be talking to and seeking the contribution of civic society, businesses and workers, who uniquely understand the damage a hard Brexit will bring. Just as in the referendum campaign, their contribution is urgently required in this Brexit election.
The logic of this pro-Remain alliance equally extends across the sea to Scotland in support of the SNP in its fight to represent the mandate of the Scottish people who oppose Brexit. Ireland and Scotland are in this together.
This is the broader political landscape we are facing into. It is much wider than the usual politics of the North - Brexit will fundamentally shape the future of both our islands for years to come.
In the context of Brexit it is not sectarian to work with other parties – it is giving recognition to the seriousness of the situation we all face. It is recognition that we must work together to defend the common interests of the unionist and nationalist people here who voted for a different future than that chosen by the peoples of England and Wales.
I understand that what I am proposing is new and unprecedented. There is no denying that this initiative will make some uncomfortable - including some in my own party.
However putting the Irish national interest ahead of our own party’s interest carries a long tradition in the SDLP and it is a commitment that will continue whilst I carry the privilege of its leadership.
Fighting Brexit is now core to that national interest. And let me be clear, for the SDLP the Irish national interest will always include the rights of unionism.
Uniting to fight Brexit here will require us to set aside much of what traditionally divides us in the interest of fighting against a hard Brexit on this island.
That might include some parties not contesting certain seats, it might include non-party candidates and it might include questioning the value of abstentionism in the context of Brexit.
It will require no one to sacrifice their principles but it might require some to sacrifice their pride.
It will most definitely require courage and creativity all round. I have opened the door to the discussion – its success will depend on whether other pro-Remain parties are prepared to join with us in the interests of all our people.
