SDLP man Justin McNulty labels Alliance a party of ‘cowards’ over refusal to take a position on the Union

It comes after Alliance was quoted in media reports saying that Saturday’s upcoming “Together We Can” summit in Dublin is “not an appropriate event for us to participate in”.

The organiser of the summit, Ireland’s Future, describes its aims as being to “promote a unity referendum”, to “advance the arguments that will win that referendum”, and to “create the conditions that will make a unified Ireland peaceful and prosperous”.

Mr McNulty, an MLA for Newry and Armagh, wrote on Twitter: “The Alliance Party are not being honest with people – they’re trying to play one side off the other.

“The SDLP have always been proudly cross community and pro-unity. We’re trying to bring all sides together and we’re always willing to engage with our critics.

“Alliance are constitutional cowards without the courage of their convictions. The future of this island can only be agreed through discussion, interaction and honesty.

“You cannot build a bridge from the middle.”

Among the responses on Twitter were the following:

@PaulHaganRea: “How do tweets calling people ‘cowards’ help promote re-unification?”

@BelfastGonzo: “Why would they attend the nationalist equivalent of a loyalist protocol rally? There’s no reason for debate when there’s a foregone conclusion.”

@GarthGilmour: “If only Alliance would decide to be implacable republicans or intractable unionists. Then true healing could begin.”

A handful of people also replied to say that, in fact, you can build a bridge from the middle.

Said one Terry Moseley (@TerryMoseley15): “Build a tower or pylon and put the middle section on top of it. Then join it to the sides. I’ve seen it done.”

Alliance was founded in 1970. Today, its 17 MLAs all designate as “other” in the Assembly.

But in the past, the party was essentially a unionist one; its 1975 manifesto said: “Alliance supports the constitutional position of Northern Ireland as an integral part of the United Kingdom.”

It added that “provocative debate” on this issue was “the primary cause of all our most fundamental troubles”.

More from this reporter:

• Ex-Alliance figure Trevor Lunn tells News Letter why he now leans towards Irish unity ahead of large-scale nationalist/republican ‘Together We Can’ summit on Saturday

• A Sinn Fein President of Ireland? Renewed push under way to extend voting rights from Republic of Ireland to include Northern Ireland