Colum Eastwood set to quit as leader of the SDLP

Colum Eastwood is set to announce his resignation as leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) on Thursday, he will remain as the MP for Foyle. Claire Hanna is expected to take over as leader.
Colum Eastwood, Foyle MP. Pic: SDLP

Colum Eastwood will announce his intention to quit as leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) at a press conference on Thursday, according to the Irish News.

The MP for Foyle will remain in the House of Commons, and it is expected that Claire Hanna will take over as leader of the party, according to the Belfast Telegraph.

Although nominations for the leadership will open when Mr Eastwood announces his resignation, there is unanimous support for Claire Hanna within the party. Only the Stormont group and MPs are eligible to put their names forward.

This is the second party leader resignation in recent weeks, as just a fortnight ago Doug Beattie announced he was stepping down as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

The SDLP held their two seats in Foyle and Belfast South and Mid Down in the general election earlier this year.

In the 2022 Assembly election, they lost four MLAs bringing their total number of seats to eight, behind the Ulster Unionist Party. The party chose to be the official opposition at the Assembly and not to be part of the Executive.

Eastwood will remain as leader until the SDLP party conference in October, the Irish News reported.

Join the discussion

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Scroll to Top