I strive to be an MP for all

I strive to be an MP for all

7 June 2017

TOMORROW’S parliamentary election is about representation at Westminster and at home and to be an “abstentionist MP” would be failing the people of South Down, according to SDLP candidate Margaret Ritchie.

Successor to the late Eddie McGrady, she is seeking her third Westminster term and says she is very proud to carry on the tradition of representing the people of South Down in the manner of her predecessor.

“Eddie was an MP for everyone and I have strived to be the same. Whether it was in council, the Assembly or Westminster, I took the view that in any forum I would be there on behalf of all of the people of South Down,” she declared.

“It never entered my head to be an absentee or abstentionist Member of Parliament. To abstain would be to fail the people of South Down who have real concerns over Brexit, welfare, education and health services. Those concerns need to be actioned and delivered upon by someone willing to confront those responsible not through the media, or outside the debating chamber, certainly not outside the rooms of committees where the detail that drives decisions is debated.”

Miss Ritchie said now, more than ever, South Down needs “real representation” voting on the floor of the House of Commons, debating in the chambers and driving forward the interests of South Down in the committee rooms at Westminster.

She continued: “For 30 years, South Down has had strong, active representation at Westminster. Abstentionism has proven a failed policy, one Sinn Fein always abandoned when it suited them politically, first at the Dáil and then at Stormont, so they should not be pretending it is some kind of sacrosanct principle now. 

“We cannot afford the luxury of playing political party games when the community we represent faces Direct Rule from Westminster, swingeing cuts in health and education and the inevitable difficulties a hard Brexit would bring to a border constituency like South Down. When Direct Rule Ministers make damaging decisions on the future of hospitals like the Downe and Daisy Hill, we want to be able to confront them directly in Westminster, not send them a press release.”

Miss Ritchie added: “Do not believe those who tell you Northern Ireland’s MPs don’t matter. The opposite is true. It is in our vital interest that Northern Ireland sends 18 committed MPs to London who will fight for our concerns and stand up and be counted.

“In South Down, we need a Brexit deal that will work for the people. Now more than ever, South Down in its new era as a European border constituency needs an MP who will be in Westminster putting forward the case for this area on the floor of the House of Commons and its various committees.”