The decision by Colum Eastwood to stand down as SDLP leader sharply demonstrates the enormous pressures surrounding front line responsibilities at all the main Stormont parties in the modern era.
Mr Eastwood’s resignation, first reported by The Irish News, followed a similar move by his Ulster Unionist counterpart, Doug Beattie, just last week, and came only three months after Gavin Robinson was confirmed as the DUP’s choice to replace Jeffrey Donaldson, who had departed in highly publicised circumstances.
Mary Lou McDonald’s position as president of Sinn Féin was called into question after disappointing results in the Republic’s European and local government elections earlier this year, while it is known that Naomi Long’s combative style has not always impressed some of her Alliance colleagues.
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There was a time when our party leaders were generally expected to remain in office on a long-term basis, with Ian Paisley senior maintaining a firm grip on the DUP for 37 years after he founded the party in 1971.
The tenure of Gerry Adams as Sinn Féin president was only slightly shorter, at 35 years, while for much of the same period John Hume, with the SDLP, and Jim Molyneaux, with the Ulster Unionists, stayed at the helm for 22 years and 16 years respectively.
It can be safely concluded that the days when Irish political parties, north and south, were dominated by one individual for decades on end are over, and in most respects that is a healthy development.
Mr Eastwood made it clear when he took charge of the SDLP in 2015 that he was focused on facilitating progress towards Irish unity, and it is fair to say that his aim looks much more realistic today than it did nine years ago.
Sinn Féin has established itself as the dominant force at Stormont by a decisive margin, but it is essential that other nationalist voices are heard as we move towards the long anticipated staging of a border poll.
All the twists and turns surrounding the Scottish National Party have illustrated that leaving any debate on independence in the hands of a single group is surrounded by risks, and building a wider consensus must be a priority.
Sinn Féin has established itself as the dominant force at Stormont by a decisive margin, but it is essential that other nationalist voices are heard
Mr Eastwood deserves full credit for his firm contribution firstly in the Assembly and then at Westminster during the turmoil following the Brexit debacle which has transformed politics on both sides of the Irish Sea.
He also gained a notable victory for the SDLP by regaining the Foyle parliamentary seat in 2019 and retaining it earlier this year, although the party’s declining electoral performances elsewhere will have to be addressed by his successor if it is to avoid being relegated to a fringe role in the coming years.
