Claire Hanna set to become next leader of SDLP

By Jonathan McCambridge (PA)

Claire Hanna is set to become the next leader of the SDLP after she was the only declared candidate for the role when nominations closed.

A party statement said the South Belfast and Mid Down MP had received the required nominations from constituency branches and support groups.

She will now proceed for ratification by party members at the SDLP conference next month.

Outgoing leader Colum Eastwood announced last week he was leaving the role after nine years.

He publicly backed Ms Hanna to succeed him, as did the party’s Stormont leader Matthew O’Toole.

Ms Hanna, 44, one of the party’s two MPs, confirmed at the weekend that she would put her name forward to become the next leader of the nationalist party.

She said: “I’m not someone who thinks they have all the answers, it is daunting but I have been involved in the SDLP for many, many years and I have learnt a thing or two about the things that work in terms of organising people and in terms of motivating.

“I’m looking forward to getting stuck in if that’s what the members decide.”

SDLP rules say candidates for the leadership must receive the nomination of at least six branches or recognised groups of the party.

The party said Ms Hanna received the nomination of every eligible SDLP constituency branch and support group.

A motion to ratify her as leader will now be tabled for formal endorsement at the party’s annual conference in Belfast on October 5.

The SDLP has seen a downturn in its fortunes since being the dominant nationalist party from its formation in 1970 to playing a major role in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in 1998 before falling behind Sinn Fein in the 2000s.

It currently has two MPs, eight MLAs and 59 councillors.

It is not part of the powersharing coalition at Stormont and its MLAs instead form the official opposition.

Ms Hanna will become the second woman to lead the party following Margaret Ritchie.