Introduction
The SDLP will hold its Annual Party Conference tomorrow at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belfast.
This will be the first party conference where Stormont has been fully operational since February 2022.
This will be the first party conference with Claire Hanna MP as it’s leader.
The SDLP will be hoping to inject new energy into the party with a new leader and its role as the official opposition in the Assembly.
What’s the context?
The last LucidTalk poll conducted over the Summer placed the SDLP on 8%, which remained unchanged from the previous Spring poll conducted in May 2024.
With the SDLP now the official opposition in Stormont, the party will hope that this brings with it opportunities to improve their visibility and appeal to voters.
Despite decreased majorities, the party successfully returned both of its MPs to parliament in the recent Westminster election.
MP for South Belfast and Mid Down Claire Hanna will become leader of the SDLP following the resignation of Colum Eastwood, who served in the role for nearly a decade.
What can we expect?
Claire Hanna will be ratified by party members as the next leader of the SDLP, becoming the seventh leader in its 54-year history.
Delegates will be addressed by leading party figures, with speeches from outgoing leader Colum Eastwood MP and Leader of the Opposition Matthew O’Toole MLA, and Claire Hanna MP will make her first speech as leader when closing off the conference in the afternoon.
The party will provide an update on the work of its New Ireland commission, which explores paths to Irish unity through partnership, co-operation and reconciliation.
The conference will showcase the rising talent within the party, hosting a conversation with Derry City and Strabane Mayor Lilian Seenoi-Barr and Newry, Mourne and Down Chairperson Pete Byrne.