Devenney relaunches his attack on the SDLP

Maurice Devenney said the nationalist party supported the Sinn Fein move to get the ‘London’ prefix removed from the city’s official name.

In response to a previous statement by the DUP candidate, the SDLP recently confirmed its position had not changed and that it wanted the city to be known as ‘Derry’.

Mr Devenney said that, while knocking on doors recently, many people were voicing their anger at the way the city’s name “is being used as a political football by nationalists and republicans”.

He said the entire episode had caused great pain to unionists in the Londonderry area for many years now, and that, as the majority party on Derry City Council, the SDLP has long had it within its power to bring matters to an end.

“People know that Sinn Fein started this off, but they are also disgusted at the role played by the SDLP,” said Mr Devenney. “They are the largest party on the council, and this divisive policy could not have proceeded without their support.”

Unionists are certain that the SDLP candidate, Mark Durkan won votes from thousands of unionists who, amid speculation that Sinn Fein might win the Foyle seat, in the last contest.

Mr Devenney hinted that he believed unionists should not consider doing so again, adding: “The SDLP are as guilty as Sinn Fein of driving a wedge through good relations with the bid to strip Londonderry of its Britishness, by removing the London prefix. Unionists now see there is little difference between Sinn Fein and the SDLP on such issues. At the same time, the impressive unionist response showed what can be done when unionist people in Londonderry stand together to demand their rights.

“This election is a chance to show that, after being marginalised and alieanted for so long, unionism is growing in confidence and will go on demanding its rights in Londonderry.”