The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLAs) and two members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
The Northern Ireland Assembly,often referred to by the metonym Stormont,is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom,and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive. It sits at Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast.
Mary Dolores Kelly is an Irish nationalist former politician who served as deputy leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 2011 to 2015. She was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann from 2003 until 2016,and again from 2017 until 2022. She was succeeded by Eóin Tennyson in 2022.
The Second Executive is as under the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 a power sharing coalition.
Jo-Anne Elizabeth Dobson is a former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) politician who was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann from 2011 to 2017. She took up the role as Northern Ireland Ambassador for charity Kidney Care UK in February 2018,and has promoted organ donation.
The Third Executive was,under the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998,a power-sharing coalition.
Rachel Woods is a Northern Irish academic and former Green Party politician who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Down from 2019 to 2022.
Claire Aisling Hanna is an Irish politician who has served as Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) since 5 October 2024 following her successful candidacy in the 2024 leadership election. She has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast South and Mid Down since 2019. Hanna previously served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South from 2015 until her election to Westminster in 2019.
Mary Emma Little-Pengelly is a Northern Irish barrister and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician serving as the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland since February 2024. She has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley since May 2022,when she was co-opted (appointed) to replace then-DUP party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson,who declined to take up his seat following the 2022 election.
Sinéad Bradley is a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician from Northern Ireland. She was an MLA for South Down from the 2016 election,but did not contest the 2022 election. She was the SDLP spokesperson on Economy and Health.
Colin McGrath MLA is an Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician from Northern Ireland. He has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for South Down since the 2016 election.
The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on 5 May 2022. It elected 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It was the seventh assembly election since the establishment of the assembly in 1998. The election was held three months after the Northern Ireland Executive collapsed due to the resignation of the First Minister,Paul Givan of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Pat Catney is an Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician and former publican,serving as a Lisburn and Castlereagh City Councillor for the Lisburn North DEA since 2023. Catney previously served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 2017 to 2022.
Matthew John O'Toole MLA is an Irish nationalist politician,former civil servant,and journalist,serving as leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in the Northern Ireland Assembly and leader of the opposition since 2022,and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South since 2020.
Cara Hunter MLA is an Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician,currently serving as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry,a position she has held since 18 May 2020.
Kate Siobhan Nicholl is a Northern Irish politician for the Alliance Party,serving as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Belfast South since 2022.
Adam McGibbon is a Northern Irish environmentalist and writer.
Malachai O'Hara is a Northern Irish politician,activist and community worker who has been the leader of the Green Party Northern Ireland since August 2022,having previously served as deputy leader from 2019 to 2022. O'Hara was a Belfast City Councillor for the Castle electoral area from 2019,until 2023. In 2024,he was elected unopposed to Seanad Éireann,in a by-election to the Administrative Panel.
Eóin Tennyson is a Northern Irish politician who has been the deputy leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland since October 2024. He succeeded former deputy leader Stephen Farry who resigned from the position in 2024. He has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Upper Bann since 2022,where he defeated former Social Democratic and Labour Party incumbent Dolores Kelly to become the youngest MLA for the constituency.
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.
