South Belfast and Mid Down MP Claire Hanna is tipped to take over the leadership of the SDLP after Colum Eastwood confirmed he is stepping down from the position.
Claire Aisling Hanna (44) was born outside Galway in a Gaeltacht area but moved to Belfast aged three with her parents and three siblings.
She attended St Bride’s Primary School and Rathmore Grammar. Ms Hanna gained a degree in international relations from the Open University and spent much of her career working in international development and relief.
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She worked as a campaigns officer for Concern Worldwide for 10 years until 2015. Her mother Carmel was MLA for South Belfast from 1998 to 2010 and briefly a minister.
Political career
Ms Hanna was first elected to represent the Balmoral ward on Belfast City Council in May 2011. She was also the party’s international secretary during that period, developing party policy on Europe and wider international affairs. She was first elected to the NI Assembly in 2016, representing South Belfast. She was the party’s Brexit spokesperson.
In 2019, Ms Hanna resigned the party whip over proposals for a partnership with Fianna Fail. Little emerged from the partnership and it had petered out by 2022. Meanwhile, she stood in the December 2019 general election, gaining the seat with a huge more than 15,000 majority over the incumbent, the DUP’s Emma Little Pengelly, now Deputy First Minister.
Ms Hanne was re-elected this year to represent the newly redrawn South Belfast and Mid Down constituency with a slightly reduced majority of 12,500 over the Alliance Party. She is currently the party’s deputy leader.
Broad philosophy
She describes her core principles as those of social democracy, social solidarity, anti-sectarianism and encouraging enterprise in a shared and pluralist society, along with the values of partnership and respect. She is an active environmentalist and maintains a keen interest in international affairs.
Personal life
Ms Hanna is married to Donal Lyons, a native Dubliner and SDLP Belfast City Councillor since replacing his partner as representative for the Balmoral ward in 2015. The couple have three children Niamh (7), Aideen (10) and Eimear (12). They live in south Belfast.
