2015 Social Democratic and Labour Party leadership election
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A leadership election was held for the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) of Northern Ireland between 12 and 15 November 2015. The result was a victory for Colum Eastwood.
12–15 November 2015
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Background
Following poor election results in the 2014 local elections, the 2014 European Parliament election and the 2015 Westminster election, McDonnell resisted calls to stand down.[1] Initially no challenger came forward, though early in June it was rumoured that eventual challenger Colum Eastwood would stand.[2] It was not until late September that Eastwood confirmed that he would stand against McDonnell.[3]
Candidates
Two SDLP members announced they would stand in the leadership election. These were:
- Colum Eastwood - MLA for Foyle. At 32 years old, Eastwood was the youngest SDLP MLA.[4] He counted among his supporters the former Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Seamus Mallon and former leader Mark Durkan.[5]
- Alasdair McDonnell - Leader of the SDLP and MP for Belfast South.
Results
Below is a table summarising the results of the leadership election. With just two candidates there was only one round of votes.
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| SDLP | Colum Eastwood | 56.4 | 172 | |
| SDLP | Alasdair McDonnell | 43.6 | 133 | |
| Electorate: 315 Valid: 305 Spoilt: Quota: 154 Turnout: | ||||