If Colum Eastwood hadn’t announced his resignation a month ahead of Saturday’s SDLP conference, there would have been a distinct sense of déjà vu among delegates – a collective post-mortem of yet another election which saw the party lose ground.
The return of its two MPs to Westminster notwithstanding, support for the SDLP in July’s general election followed the downward trajectory of the past 25 years.
With few exceptions, every conference since the Good Friday Agreement has been about arresting decline. There’s been no shortage of initiatives and worthy projects designed to improve the party’s appeal to a new generation of voters but they’ve either been met with internal apathy or failed to gain significant traction.
The change of leadership which sees one MP hand the baton to another is best characterised as an amicable divorce. Reflecting over the summer on his nine-year and ten election tenure – the longest of any SDLP leader since John Hume – Mr Eastwood concluded that he had given all he could. In his last speech as leader, he referenced the toll politics has taken on his life, including “abuse, threats and intimidation”.
The response to his address showed there remains much warmth for the Foyle MP among the SDLP rank and file. He stressed that he still has a lot to offer the party and politics, especially in relation to augmenting the work of the New Ireland Commission and representing his native city.
Despite previously stating that she didn’t want the job, and one of her predecessors saying the party could not be led from Westminster, Claire Hanna is Mr Eastwood’s obvious successor, and accordingly her bid for the leadership went unchallenged.
The nature of the handover means the process has been relatively smooth, which could inadvertently make the South and Mid Down MP’s efforts to stamp her identity on the party more challenging. However, there’s no shortage of goodwill and support among an obviously re-energised party membership, who’ve been spared the strife and division such transitions often involve.
The difference with Claire Hanna is expected to be mostly in her style rather than the substance, though from the outset she is keen to stress her social democratic credentials and her desire to make Northern Ireland work on the way to constitutional change.
One party member said the difference from her predecessor was like comparing Derry with south Belfast – the former, while steeped in civil rights, puts a greater emphasis on nationalism, while the latter is more diverse and requires a representative with broader appeal.
In her own constituency Ms Hanna has proved in two successive elections that she can reach parts of the electorate others can’t. In many ways her aim is to forge the party roughly in her own image and likeness, and most seem willing to try.
Given that the two Stormont parties that have increased their vote in recent years are both led by women, the change in gender alone may prove positive but the new leader hopes her influence will be more than merely superficial.
Unlike her poll-weary predecessor, she has the luxury of a two-and-a-half year run-in before the next election, so won’t be distracted in her efforts to restyle and revitalise the SDLP, although maintaining momentum will be a challenge.
Nobody underestimates the magnitude of the task facing Claire Hanna but there seems to be a collective belief that there’s no better person for the job.
