SDLP leader Colum Eastwood resigns after nearly 10 years
SLDP leader Colum Eastwood has announced his resignation as party leader.
Mr Eastwood has been leader of the Northern Irish nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) for nearly a decade after he was elected in 2015.
His resignation comes just eight weeks after retaining his Westminster seat in Foyle with a reduced majority of 4,166.
However, his party did not do so well, losing substantial ground in South Down and Upper Bann.
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Announcing his resignation, he said: “Politics is always about the next challenge. The next challenge for me is building a new Ireland that we can all share together.
“It’s an honour to be Derry’s MP – a job I love, to have led the SDLP and I’m excited about what comes next.”
It is understood he will remain leader until a successor is chosen by the party, with a replacement named in time for the party’s annual conference in October.
Mr Eastwood has endorsed Claire Hanna as “far and away” the best candidate to replace him.
The MP for Belfast South and Mid Down since 2019, Ms Hanna is understood to have unanimous support among SDLP representatives at Stormont.
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Sir Keir Starmer with Colum Eastwood and Claire Hanna
Who is Colum Eastwood?
The 41-year-old joined the SDLP in 1998, aged just 14, as he said he was inspired by the Good Friday Agreement – signed that year – and SDLP leader at the time, John Hume.
Mr Eastwood was elected to Derry City Council aged 22 and became the city’s youngest mayor five years later at the age of 27.
It was not long before he moved from the mayor’s office to Stormont where he was elected as an MLA for Foyle in 2011 – again the youngest – and was nominated to stand as the SDLP’s deputy leader just four months later.
However, he turned the offer down to focus on his constituency before challenging Alasdair McDonnell for the leadership of the SDLP four years later, saying the party was lacking in ideas and he wanted to take it in a fresh direction.
Mr Eastwood won the leadership vote after saying an Irish nationalist party could not be led from Westminster.
Aged 32, he became the party’s sixth leader in 2015.
The SDLP leader was elected as a Westminster MP for Foyle in the 2019 general election, beating the incumbent Sinn Fein candidate with a landslide victory.
In July 2021, he used his parliamentary privilege to reveal the identity in the House of Commons of Bloody Sunday’s Soldier F, a former British soldier who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles who was prosecuted for the murders of two civilians in 2023.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has dodged calls from her predecessor Anneliese Dodds for a wealth tax to be considered ahead of this autumn’s budget.
When Sir Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020, Ms Dodds was his first pick for shadow chancellor. However, she did not last long and was replaced by Ms Reeves, who then got the government job after last year’s election win.
Speaking to the Sky News political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Ms Dodds said she had examined wealth taxes when she was briefly in the shadow chancellor job and how one could be implemented.
She said: “I would hope the Treasury is considering that kind of evidence, as well as other changes that have been put forward.”
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‘Rachel Reeves would hate what you just said’
Asked today if about Ms Dodds’ intervention, Ms Reeves said: “Decisions around tax are decisions that are made at a budget and we’ll make those decisions in the appropriate way, but the number-one priority of this government is to grow the economy.
“And that means bringing more investment into Britain, creating more good jobs paying decent wages here in Britain.
Listen here to hear Ms Dodds’ full comments:
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“We’ve got to get the balance right on taxation because we want that investment, we want those jobs to come here.
“That’s why we’re reforming the planning system, secured three trade deals in the first year of this Labour government, cutting back on unnecessary regulation, and reforming our pension system to unlock money for businesses to be able to invest here in the UK.”
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What is a wealth tax?
The government’s financial position is stretched ahead of the next budget, due at the end of autumn.
Ms Reeves has committed herself to not changing her fiscal rules, leaving little wiggle room to avoid tax rises or spending cuts.
This is due to the government’s inability to save money through policies like welfare reform, which were gutted due to a rebellion of backbench Labour MPs.
Last week, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds branded the suggestion of a wealth tax “daft” – but he has less influence over the writing of the budget than the chancellor.
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Meanwhile, reports from the Daily Telegraph suggested that Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner backed increasing taxes, including reinstating the pensions lifetime allowance and a higher corporation tax level for banks.
Ms Dodds also wants to see those considered.
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