SDLP’s manifesto more letter to Santa than a realistic plan for government

Like every party so far, the cost-of-living crisis is designated a priority.

In what seems like the longest election campaign in history, this is obviously the most pressing issue and the one that is coming up time and time again on the campaign trail.

The SDLP has a “six-point cost of living action plan”, proposing that every household receive a £200 payment, with additional support for those who need it.

“Under our plan, a family with two children on free school meals would receive over £1,200 between now and December,” the party says.

Straight away, you can see how controversial that policy will be: while the middle is being squeezed in the current crisis, giving £200 to the most wealthy is bound to face a public backlash.

The image of those in need spending the money on a gas and electric top-up while others splash out on a boozy lunch or a new handbag is likely to generate enough material to keep a talk radio show in business.

The other pledges — there are six, after all — include passing emergency legislation to free up the £300m of funding currently resting in the Executive’s account.

They would relaunch the free school meal payment scheme to include the summer holidays. For a family with two children, this would provide £108 per month directly into their bank account, or £972 for the remainder of the year (this is where that £1,200 figure comes from).

The SDLP also calls for a reduction on the cap on energy market profits to ensure savings are passed to consumers.

They will also press the government to introduce a one-year VAT holiday for domestic energy charges.

I wouldn’t envy the political party relying on the current government for any mitigations, so number five of the six-point-plan seems like a bit of a flyer.

And as for point six — “Press the British government to introduce a windfall tax on energy companies” — see the response to pledge number five.

The party then moves on to the second most pressing issue on the agenda — not the Northern Ireland Protocol, but health.

There are common-sense pledges here, such as separating elective surgery from emergency surgery, and changing the age of retirement for GPs to let them continue working while the workforce is replenished at the other end through additional training.

The party proposes increasing nurses pay by 6% — popular, but this isn’t costed.

There is a section on social care that is number three on the SDLP priority list, and a second on early years and childcare provision. All the parties have recognised this as a major issue.

It comes with a four-point plan: expanding antenatal support for all parents; early years parenting support initiatives; increasing the provision of free preschool childcare from 12.5 hours per week to 30 hours per week (popular, but again not costed); and developing a “world-class” early years system with a fully resourced early learning and care strategy.

Education doesn’t get a plan, but it does get “three core principles” — again, all common sense and little to argue with.

When it comes to climate change there are five “promises”, rather then pledges or plans.

Given that Nicola Mallon was the infrastructure minister, there’s no surprise that there is a large section dedicated to the development of the transport network.

The €1bn from the Republic’s Shared Island Unit, to deliver all-island projects such as the Narrow Water Bridge and the Ulster Canal, gets a mention.

Welfare, jobs, education, health, infrastructure are all cited in what is a fairly comprehensive document.

You reach page 31 of the 40-page manifesto before Europe gets a mention.

It ends with a look at the Assembly candidates, a mix of old and new.

It’s a well put-together document but, like all manifestos, is more of a letter to Santa than anything that can be realistically achieved.

For the political nerds, there’s a decent bit of reading, so on that score, it delivers.​​​​​​​