2 May 2025

SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP has said that British politics is headed in a dark direction and towards a place her constituents don’t want to go.

She was speaking after a number of successful elections for the Reform Party.

Ms Hanna said the trajectory of British politics in recent years should focus minds in Northern Ireland about the kind of future we want to build.

South Belfast and Mid Down MP Ms Hanna said:

“The surge for Reform represents a significant and structural change in British politics, which makes serious focus on Northern Ireland’s position and future a real and reasonable concern. The gains for Nigel Farage’s party, and the failure of the UK Government to articulate a real alternative, demonstrate a profound and lasting change to politics in Britain. It also means that despite recent warmth, a return to collegiate and respectful Anglo-Irish relationships cannot be relied on.

“Labour have adjusted to this change by moving towards a more illiberal and nationalist England, rather than offering a real and hopeful alternative. It’s not credible to pretend that this has no bearing on Northern Ireland and its continuing place in the UK. It is certainly unlikely that Northern Ireland’s unique politics and needs will have a listening ear and a high priority.

“Those of us who want to build a better future for this generation and the next have serious work to do to convince people that there is an alternative. The SDLP believes that future lies in a New Ireland - with a dynamic economy, an ethical foreign policy and an admirable approach to accommodating change and difference. Every day, we are confronted with reasons to break from the UK’s more narrow, isolationist path and instead build a diverse, just and confident Ireland that everyone can call home.”