Local politicians accepting 'crumbs from the table' - Conal McFeely

Local politicians have been accused of “seeming quite happy to accept some crumbs from the table” of the North’s Belfast-centric economic policy.

The stinging criticism came from Creggan community worker, Conal McFeely.  It followed last week’s revelation, no Derry projects received second round British Government Levelling-Up funding, even though a number submitted applications.

Speaking to Derry Now, Mr McFeely said the Belfast-centric status quo needed to be challenged. 

“It is not being challenged in the North West and that is a criticism of our local politicians who for the most part seem quite happy to accept some crumbs from the table.”

He added: “In terms of the Levelling-Up Fund, £120 million has been doled out in the North and of that only £16 million has been allocated to the North West and there was nothing allocated in this round of funding. 

“The Levelling-Up Fund’s is supposed to be for projects which increase productivity, job opportunities, and pay rates for particular regions. I have spoken to people involved in administering the Levelling-Up Fund and they said it is about helping communities to save local community assets and the regeneration of local towns. 

“It is also about investment, culture, and heritage and the upgrading of local transport systems. Essentially, it is about targeting areas in greatest need. I would challenge anyone to identify an area more in need than the North West. 

“Now, if we compare Derry and Belfast, Belfast’s economy has grown by more than 14% in real terms since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, whereas the Derry economy has contracted by 7% in those years.

“In Belfast, income per capita has grown by 14% in real terms since the Good Friday Agreement but the Derry income per capita has fallen by 12% in real terms. The per capita income in Belfast remains double that of Derry (£31K/£15K). Belfast has been among the top 20 UK government districts for economic performance since 1997 and Derry has been among the bottom 5% of all UK government districts for economic performance since 1997,” he said.

According to Conal McFeely, Derry and Strabane have topped virtually every table in respect of deprivation and economic inactivity for decades. 

“We have seen very little benefit here of what people refer to as the peace dividend,” he said. And the recent revelations in respect of Invest NI (for every job Invest NI supported in Derry and Strabane, it has supported 25 in Belfast) – demonstrate a systemic  failure to see Derry and the North West as a suitable region for investment.  

“In terms of levelling up, I have stated for a while, along with others, that the North West needs a dedicated regional development strategy, which would help the region to level up in relation to the rest of the North and in relation to the rest of this island. Arguably much of the current funding under ‘Levelling Up’ has been peace-meal – with little in terms of a wider strategic cohesive plan behind it. If ‘Levelling Up’ is to be a meaningful initiative then the programme must address some of the more structural issues facing those areas which are most disadvantaged.

“To that end, we met with the people who came to the city to talk about the Levelling-Up Fund. We provided them with a very detailed vision for the North West. We put it to them that if they were serious about the Levelling-Up agenda, there was only one strategic project/vision which would make a significant, long term economic and social impact on this region, the development of an independent university for the North West. 

“We also had very detailed conversations with the Irish Government regarding the North West, particularly the problems facing Derry and Donegal.

“We argued, being a border region, the North West had suffered disproportionately ever since partition, and Brexit has only exacerbated these issues further.

“During that particular process, the British Government put out a command paper which talked about the need for a cross-border university initiative, so we also argued, there was a unique opportunity for the British Government, if it was serious about the Levelling-Up agenda for this part of the world, to develop an independent, cross-border university as an initiative to offset the effects of Brexit, with Irish Government support, potentially through the Shared Island Initiative” said Conal McFeely.

Conal McFeely said the uniqueness of the model proposed meant it could secure funding from the British Government, the Executive and the EU.

“We also put forward proposals regarding the lack of job opportunities for the next generation coming up and the fact we still have some of the highest levels of economic inactivity and job opportunity,” said Conal McFeely, who added the proposals had been submitted to the Levelling-Up team, the Irish Government and circulated to local representatives and Stormont. 
One of the projects which received Levelling-Up funding last week was a new university (the ‘Multiversity project’) for Blackpool, an area similar in size (in terms of population) to Derry/Strabane, albeit already more affluent than the North West.

Conal McFeely added: “Blackpool is a more affluent area than Derry and Strabane, yet it has received £40 million plus for a university, which they are saying is crucial for that particular region.

“Why can that not apply here? We are at the bottom of all indices of economic deprivation. We have been battling now for well over 50 years to actually have a proper university structure in the North West. Any economist will tell you a region like Derry and Strabane, which does not have a proper university (with Belfast commanding 80% of University numbers in the region) will always be on the back foot. 

“If the British Government has already stated in a command paper there is a need for a cross border university and if the Council has also said over the years we need a properly resourced university, my question to Council and government(s) is, ‘Why then are you not championing an independent university?’ 

“I ask the same of our political elite up in Stormont.  Why are they not saying,  ‘enough is enough’ in terms of Derry not having the opportunity to go forward. A properly resourced, independent university, is key to any sort of regeneration, as is a proper transport infrastructure. We have neither.”

Conal McFeely added: “We were told under the Good Friday Agreement there would be equality of opportunity across the region. The fact is there is still no equality of opportunity across the North.

“And talking about Levelling-Up in a wider context, people should have decent wages and we need investment in our health service, public sector and social economy.

“We should also not be timid in our demand from government – we should be looking at projects which ‘Think Big and Think Differently’ for the North West – aspirational projects which provide hope for future generations and which have the most desirable long term outcomes in mind – i.e. sustainable well paid jobs which provide a platform/foundation for a step change in regional capacity building and community wealth building.

“To resolve disadvantage, the status quo needs to be challenged, the current Belfast- centric investment needs to be addressed. The Cost of Living crisis is crippling communities - now is the time for our leaders to step up to the plate and demand the change/investment which has been needed in the North West for decades”