26 August 2026

SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP has said the fallout from the court ruling on the Parades Commission’s Garvaghy Road determination underlines the need for consistency, seriousness and empathy from political leaders.

Claire Hanna MP said:

“Drumcree and the dispute over Garvaghy Road represented one of the lowest points in our recent history. Nobody should want to see a return to the division, confrontation and community tension that characterised that period.

“The Parades Commission has clearly dropped the ball in its handling of an enormously sensitive issue. An organisation entrusted with decisions that can have significant consequences for community relations must have robust processes and command public confidence.

“There are serious questions about how this determination was reached and why the necessary due diligence was not carried out. The Commission must provide answers and demonstrate that lessons have been learned.

“Those failures, however, cannot become an excuse to turn the clock back thirty years.

“The reaction from some unionist politicians suggests that the central lesson of Drumcree still has not been fully understood.

“Residents have a right to live free from intimidation and confrontation, just as those who wish to parade are entitled to have their applications considered through a fair and credible process.

“Political leadership at moments like this means lowering the temperature, being honest about the mistakes that have been made and resisting the temptation to retreat into old positions.

“We have come too far since Drumcree to allow anyone to drag us back there.”