22 September 2026

SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP, alongside party representatives, today met with the Parades Commission to outline the SDLP’s continued opposition to the notification of a parade by Portadown LOL District No. 1.

Following the meeting, Claire Hanna MP said:

“Following extensive engagement with residents, businesses and the wider Garvaghy Road community, it is clear there is no appetite for this parade to take place.

“The community at the centre of this has lived with the scars of the dispute, and that hurt was so clear when I met with them recently. Residents do not want old wounds reopened, community relations damaged or further disruption caused. These are all factors the Parades Commission must take into consideration.

I think those sentiments are reflected widely, and from many political perspectives, including beyond Portadown. There is a weariness about the provocative and deliberately escalatory language some are indulging in.

“Political leadership at moments like this means lowering the temperature, being honest about the mistakes that have been made and resisting the temptation to retreat into old positions.”