A UNIONIST-controlled council has been asked why it wants to appoint Police Ombudsman Nuala O'Loan's
SDLP councillor husband to a committee aimed at developing a mainly loyalist area.
Twenty nationalist councillors - including all but one
SDLP representative voted to uphold it.
The Dublin-born politician, whose political career began as director of communications for the
SDLP from 1996 to 1999, was co-opted in 2010 to the party's Assembly team to replace the long-serving Carmel Hanna.
The
SDLP will not be content to settle for things as they are, just because they are better than they used to be.
The Foyle MLA married a former
SDLP press officer on Saturday and added he would be taking ministerial papers with him on his honeymoon to ensure he is up to speed.
Figures, compiled by the Electoral Commission, show, for example, that the UUP and
SDLP spent several thousands more per constituency than the DUP and Sinn Fein.
SDLP Social Development spokesman Mark H Durkan said the research by the NI Federation of Housing Associations and the Chartered Institute of Housing - which found the tax would cost PS21million but reduce the bill by PS17million - was a conservative estimate.
However, a war of words has erupted between Sinn Fein and
SDLP over the proposed legislation.
Officially the party has said it is "rigorously" scrut-inising the Government's new proposals for RUC reform - but
SDLP sources said they believed the party was leaning towards acceptance of the new package and entry into the Police Board.
The party's former
SDLP Agriculture Minister thinks the party is not doing enough to bring people together.
SDLP chairman Alex Attwood said yesterday it would be "folly'' to deny progress had been made on policing.
Councillor David Bell labelled a statement from the
SDLP outlining their opposition to the DUP motion as a "face-saving exercise".