Sorcha Eastwood: MP rules herself out of future Alliance leadership race
Long has been the leader of the Alliance Party since 2016 and spent 10 years as the party's deputy leader before that. Eastwood said seeing Long become the MP for East Belfast in 2010 made her consider getting involved in politics."Naomi has provided such incredible leadership over a really trying and difficult period in our politics" she told the Red Lines podcast. "There's a lot more to come there from her - a lot more that she wants to see delivered."In October the Upper Bann MLA Eóin Tennyson was elected as the party's deputy leader succeeding Stephen Farry."Naomi and Eóin are doing a brilliant job, and fair play to them. It's a big job to step up into that role and Eoin has done really, really, well in it."
Commons' 'class divide'
Eastwood said her work as MP was the "most important thing"."Being an MP is not an easy job. It is a huge role. "In some ways you are pulling a lot of the party with you because you are making big decisions on tax, national security, and foreign policy", Eastwood said.But she also said there was a side of Westminster politics that she did not like."There is a real class divide between a lot of people in that building and the people who are coming into the building," she added."It's a palace - the Palace of Westminster."
Eastwood said that coming from a working class background, "that was a real smack up the face for me"."Frankly, there's a lot of people who maybe love that pomp and ceremony and see that as maybe part of the environs they should be accustomed to. "That's not my vibe at all. You are in a building where some of the richest people, people with a lot of personal and family wealth behind them are on the frontbench of both sides. "They have made decisions that have impoverished people who I represent. They have been at the heart of some of the most impactful and damaging decisions in the last 15, 20 years."
Andrew Tate legal proceedings
Eastwood spoke again of her concerns that young women were being deterred from entering politics and public life because of directed online abuse.In January, the Lagan Valley MP's solicitors said they were issuing legal proceedings against the controversial influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan over online posts."It worries me that women are opting out of positions, whether it is in the public square, whether it is in elected politics, and that cannot be a situation that we countenance," she said.
You can listen to Red Lines on BBC Sounds.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Chagos deal to cost UK ‘10 times more than claimed'
A deal to transfer the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius, while retaining control of the Diego Garcia military base, is projected to cost the UK £34.7 billion over 99 years. Conservative Dame Priti Patel has accused ministers of attempting to "cover up" the true cost of the agreement, alleging an "accountancy trick" was used to present the figure as £3.4 billion. The higher £34.7 billion figure, released by the Government Actuary's Department, is a nominal amount, which, when adjusted for inflation, is estimated to be around £10 billion in today's money. The government reportedly used a "social time preference" principle, in use since 2003, to reduce the figure by between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent per year. Dame Priti criticised Labour figures, including Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, for what she called a "terrible deal".
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
Legacy body to investigate Narrow Water and M62 bombing atrocities
The body tasked with probing outstanding cases from the Northern Ireland Troubles is to investigate the Narrow Water atrocity in which 18 soldiers were killed in Co Down in 1979. The Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information (ICRIR) will also investigate the 1974 M62 coach bombing in England, which killed nine soldiers and three civilians. They are among the latest cases that have been accepted by the commission and are in the information recovery stage. The Narrow Water atrocity occurred on August 27 1979, as a convoy of vehicles transported Parachute Regiment soldiers from Ballykinler barracks to Newry. As they passed the old Narrow Water castle ruins, IRA terrorists remotely detonated the two bombs from a firing point across the Newry River in the Republic of Ireland. Eighteen soldiers were killed, the highest death toll suffered by the Army in a single day during the Troubles. There was also a 19th victim – Michael Hudson, who had been visiting the Republic of Ireland from London, who was killed by army gunfire across the river following the blasts. Nobody was ever convicted over the attacks. The incident came just hours after Lord Mountbatten, two members of his family and a Co Fermanagh teenager had been killed by the IRA in a boat bomb in Co Sligo. The M62 coach bombing in West Yorkshire occurred on February 4 1974. The coach was carrying soldiers and their families back to their Catterick base when an IRA bomb hidden in the luggage compartment of exploded. Twelve people were killed, including two children aged five and two. The ICRIR was created by the previous government's controversial Legacy Act and is headed by former Northern Ireland Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan. Bereaved families, victims and certain public authorities can request the commission carry out an investigation into Troubles incidents. While the Labour Government has said it will repeal and replace parts of the Act and reinstate inquests and civil cases, it is retaining the ICRIR. Many bereaved families are unhappy with the retention of the commission and have vowed not to engage with it. Victims have questioned the body's independence and its ability to uncover answers about Troubles crimes. The commission has previously revealed that it is carrying out an investigation into the Guildford pub bombings of 1974 and has also been asked to investigate the Kingsmill massacre in Co Armagh in 1976.
Telegraph
6 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Britain's white working-class should not indulge in racial victimhood
With Labour Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson declaring that it is a national disgrace that white working-class children in Britain are being 'written off' by society, how do we get to the bottom of the underachievement which characterises this cohort? What must be resisted is indulging in racial victimhood. Many of the barriers to white-British working-class achievement in the education system are social and cultural. Within more traditional-minded ethnic minorities, families are more likely to be intact and have a strong educational ethos (this is certainly true for many of Britain's high-performing Indian, Chinese, and Nigerian communities). Civic associations within such communities continue to flourish, with places of spirituality and worship providing an uplifting sense of belonging. Intergenerational connectedness is key to young people's personal development. Growing up in my Bedfordshire hometown of Luton, whether it was at the local newsagents or the Asian greengrocers, my community 'elders' would take an interest in how I was performing at school, college, and university (and now in my professional life). Not only does this make a young person feel valued, it provides a healthy pressure where one does not want to disappoint one's own parents, but also wishes to avoid potential embarrassment in the wider local community. Personal pride and family honour are important in this context. Sadly, these social structures and cultural dynamics are virtually non-existent in many left-behind communities in Britain. There are several practical interventions which can be made – but change will not take place overnight. England remains one of the most inter-regionally imbalanced nations in the industrialised world. Regional economics and underinvestment in deindustrialised towns is a problem that needs to be fixed. Building up a local stock of high-quality teachers and maintaining them in impoverished areas will remain a major challenge, unless there is a genuine 'levelling up' of the country. This needs to be complemented with ensuring the value of vocational training and apprenticeship options which should act as springboards to higher education. The building of positive relationships between schools and families – especially in cases where parents had personally negative experiences with the education system and have a lack of confidence in it – is vital. There is also no harm in having a national curriculum which highlights England's anti-racist, working-class traditions – whether it was the 1862 Manchester revolt (where mill workers refused to work with American cotton in solidarity with the US's black slaves) or the 1943 Battle of Bamber Bridge (which saw pub landlords resist the effort of American commanders to introduce a 'colour bar' in the Lancastrian village). Surely this would be more beneficial to teach in cities such as Salford and towns like Blackpool, instead of the pseudo-intellectual theories of 'white privilege' which spread like wildfire during the era of BLM-mania? White working-class underachievement in the English education system is driven by a myriad of factors – economic, social, and cultural. It is crucial that this issue does not descend into the politics of grievance – more than ever, serious policies are needed to enable and empower young people to fulfil their potential.
