A leadership election was held for the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) of Northern Ireland on 5 October 2024, following the resignation of Colum Eastwood on 29 August 2024 to focus on his role in the party's New Ireland Commission and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Foyle. The SDLP's other MP, Claire Hanna, ran unopposed for the leadership.
Background Eastwood was elected SDLP leader in 2015 after successfully challenging Dr Alasdair McDonnell to become the party's sixth leader in what was regarded as a "meteoric rise".
The party lost four seats in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, losing ground to Sinn Féin. They held their two seats at the 2024 United Kingdom general election, but their performance was seen as disappointing. Eastwood's own majority in Foyle was reduced from about 17,000 to just over 4,000.
The leadership election briefly overlapped with an Ulster Unionist Party leadership election and an Alliance Party deputy leadership election.
Procedure Eastwood formally resigned at the party's conference on 5 October 2024 to allow a new leader to be elected. Nominations for the leadership opened on 30 August with only Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast South and Mid Down Claire Hanna and the party's eight Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) eligible to put their names forward over the following seven days. +Key datesDateEvent29 AugustSDLP Leader Colum Eastwood announces that he will resign at the SDLP Party conference.30 AugustNominations opened.6 SeptemberNominations closed at 12:00 BST with Clare Hanna being the only nominee.5 OctoberEastwood formally resigns at the party's conference.https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2024-09-01/claire-hanna-confirms-bid-to-seek-sdlp-leadership Hanna ratified as SDLP Leader.
Candidates
Declared CandidateBornPolitical officeSourceGalway, Republic of IrelandDeputy Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party MP for Belfast South and Mid Down
Declined CandidateBornPolitical officeSource Belfast, Northern IrelandLeader of the Opposition MLA for Belfast South
Results On 6 September 2024, Claire Hanna was announced as the only nominated candidate for leader. She was ratified in the post at the SDLP conference on 5 October 2025.
References