On Saturday the SDLP were meeting in Newry to discuss their future.

At the same time 2,000 Sinn Féin delegates from around the 32 counties were meeting at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast to plot their next plan of action. The two events could not have been more striking.

If the SDLP want my advice, and they probably don’t, it’s time to go away. There is no point in the SDLP any more and their former supporters know it.

The only future they can possibly have is to join up with one of the southern parties, because what they lack is an all-Ireland dimension.

They still have time.

Former Voter