Wallace Thompson: It was petty of the SDLP leader Colum Eastwood to shout 'Derry' during Gavin Robinson's speech to MPs

If nationalists genuinely want to win unionists over to the idea of a new Ireland, as they have said they wish to do, then they should be careful to avoid needlessly poking them in the eye as Colum Eastwood did in the House of Commons on Tuesday when he interjected “Derry” during Gavin Robinson’s reference in his speech to Londonderry.

The city’s name is obviously a long standing subject of controversy (something which led the late Gerry Anderson to coin the term ‘Stroke City’) but it is officially Londonderry and Mr Eastwood’s intervention was churlish, petty and wholly inappropriate.

In short, he let himself down. The overall tone of the speeches about Speaker-elect Sir Lindsay Hoyle was courteous and respectful, and Gavin Robinson’s was well-laced with humour. There was no need to introduce a sour note from a sedentary position.

In recent times, I have been calling for a rational debate between unionists and nationalists. In the scheme of things Mr Eastwood’s interjection might seem a trivial matter, but perceptions are important. and we must all be sensitive to that in any discussions about the future.

Wallace Thompson, Belfast BT5