THE SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, has said his party offers real leadership and partnership in local government in the North and he has urged voters not to be swayed by Sinn Fein publicity stunts.
The SDLP is running 167 candidates in Wednesday's council elections. Sinn Fein MPs, Mr Gerry Adams and Mr Martin McGuinness, are due to visit Westminster just before the election to protest about their exclusion from the House of Commons.
Mr Hume said he wondered why they were prepared to sit in one part of the building but not take their seats in the chamber. He suggested they might simply be engaged in publicity stunts.
Launching the SDLP manifesto, Real Leadership, Real Partnership, he said he was confident his party would make "major gains" in the election.
It had recorded its highest vote ever in a Westminster poll earlier this month and it was entering Wednesday's election as the second largest party in the North, he said.
Mr Hume said he was proud of the SDLP's record in pioneering powersharing in local government. Councils under its control or influence Derry, Down, and Newry and Mourne rotated their posts regularly and worked - in "a true spirit of partnership with other parties to benefit the entire community".
Mr Hume called for a big vote for the SDLP across the North to help it in creating a better future for all.