Claire Hanna is the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) and the MP for Belfast South and Mid Down. She was first elected to parliament for the predecessor seat of Belfast South at the 2019 general election.

In the 2024 general election for the new Belfast South and Mid Down constituency, Hanna received 21,345 votes (49.1%). The Alliance Party candidate received 8,839 votes (20.3%), and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) candidate secured 6,859 votes (15.8%). Hanna was duly elected with a majority of 12,506.

The Belfast South and Mid Down constituency covers the southern part of the city of Belfast, Finaghy, Drumbo and Carryduff. Queen’s University Belfast is located within the constituency area.

The seat was created for the 2024 election, expanding the former Belfast South seat. Belfast South had a history of being contested between nationalist and unionist parties, being held by the SDLP for much of the period since 2005, but briefly by the DUP from 2017-2019. Hanna gained the seat for the SDLP in 2019, in an election where Sinn Féin did not stand a candidate in the constituency.

Hanna’s immediate predecessor as the MP for Belfast South was Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP, who represented the constituency from 2017 to 2019. Little-Pengelly was appointed deputy first minister of Northern Ireland in February 2024.

Political Career

Hanna was elected leader of the SDLP in October 2024, succeeding Colum Eastwood. The leadership election was uncontested and Hanna secured Eastwood’s endorsement.

In her victory speech, Hanna stated she refuses to believe Stormont (the Northern Ireland Assembly) is “as good as it gets”.

She argued that Irish unity “isn’t a magic wand” but it “takes us closer to a connected, dynamic economy”.

Hanna said: “Change can feel daunting but the principle at its heart is simple and exciting – the people of this region, in all our difference and diversity, coming together to build something new.

“We know that a new Ireland means a new Northern Ireland along the way. It means not waiting for a border poll to start changing people’s lives.”

She added: “As a party we need to change how we do things, but not why we do things. We’ll show people that what they have now isn’t as good as it gets, and that we’re the party who’ll build something new.

“All of us together, I know we can do it.”

Hanna has served on the Northern Ireland affairs select committee since March 2020. The Northern Ireland affairs committee is a select committee of the House of Commons responsible for scrutinising the policy, administration, and spending of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) and its associated public bodies.

Following the 2024 general election, the two SDLP MPs (Hanna and Eastwood) decided to sit on the government benches in the House of Commons. The SDLP and Labour are sister parties. Hanna and Eastwood do not take the Labour whip.

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In the first session of Northern Ireland Office oral questions after the July election, Labour MP Adam Jogee referred to Hanna and Eastwood as his “honourable friends”.

The MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme said: “It is very good to see my honourable friends the members for Foyle [Eastwood] and for Belfast South and Mid Down [Hanna] on the government benches.”

Hanna previously served as the SDLP’s spokesperson for Europe and international affairs.

Hanna delivered her maiden speech in the House of Commons on 20 December 2019 during the debate on the EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill. In it, she said: “I anticipated having a wee bit more time to craft my maiden speech and to reflect our outlook. But, put simply, Brexit is an emergency and I was elected to do all I can to mitigate the impact of Brexit for the people I represent.

“Also, as a Northern Irish politician and a mum of three, the opportunity to speak for five minutes uninterrupted was too exciting.”

She added: “Brexit sundered the body politic and the social consensus across these islands in unimaginable ways. It fed off people who felt lost and disenfranchised in the political system, and I fear that it will leave them feeling much worse…

“Beyond the economy, Brexit up-ends the delicate balance that in Northern Ireland has allowed us to imagine our shared and equal future together. We in Northern Ireland know the value of the EU.

“As my political hero and predecessor in this House, John Hume, so often said, the EU is the greatest peacebuilding and Toggle showing location of Column 168conflict resolution project anywhere in the world, and those of us particularly affected by conflict have a duty to reflect its principles.”

Hanna previously stood unsuccessfully as the SDLP candidate for Strangford in the 2010 general election, finishing fourth to DUP candidate Jim Shannon on 2,164 votes (6.7%).

Before her election to Westminster, Hanna was the member of the legislative assembly (MLA) for Belfast South from June 2015 to December 2019.

During her time in the assembly, Hanna served as vice-chair of the finance committee and was a member of other committees including public accounts. She also chaired assembly all-party groups on international development and the arts.

In February 2019, Hanna resigned the SDLP party whip in protest after the party agreed to form an electoral alliance with Fianna Fáil. The SDLP membership had voted in favour of forming a partnership with Fianna Fail, passing a motion by 121 votes to 53 at a special party conference.

“I believe strongly in the values of the SDLP and the new Ireland it embodies and I don’t think putting all those eggs in the Fianna Fáil basket is consistent with that”, Hanna said at the time.

“I have no problem working with Fianna Fáil but I don’t see why we have to repudiate our links with Labour and Fine Gael.”

In August 2024, Hanna told the BBC’s Red Lines podcast that she and SDLP colleagues had discussed forming a new party in 2019, due to their disagreement over the electoral alliance and its possible result.

She said: “At that time, in those few months, I did think my time in elected political life was possibly coming to an end if that [partnership] had gone in the trajectory we and others thought it was going to.

“I thought deeply about where I fitted. I didn’t think that I fitted into any of the existing political vehicles that were around.”

It was speculated that the SDLP-Fianna Fáil electoral alliance – spearheaded by Eastwood, Hanna’s predecessor as leader – could have been a precursor to a formal merger between the two parties. In 2019, Hanna said she would never be a Fianna Fáil MLA, adding: “I am not a box of cereal, I can’t suddenly become a different brand.”

Further to this, Hanna said in 2024: “I genuinely think that something like the SDLP, a party with a history, values and a heritage, should exist…

“It was the wrong thing to do but I think Colum Eastwood was trying to do something. It was the route that he thought possibly would take the party out of the place it was in.”

Hanna canvassed on behalf of Fine Gael and Labour in the 2020 Irish general election. Hanna said she was supporting “friends” from Labour, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.

“I am a social democrat in the Irish nationalist tradition and believe in political pluralism and relationships across the political spectrum, and in supporting people who will be good for their communities and for the country”, she told the Belfast Telegraph.

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Before her tenure as an MLA, Hanna was a Belfast city councillor representing the Balmoral electoral area from May 2011 to June 2015, having succeeded her mother, Carmel Hanna, on the council. As a councillor, she successfully brought forward motions establishing Belfast as a Living Wage employer.

Political Views

Hanna represents the SDLP’s Irish nationalist and social democratic outlook. She advocates for Irish reunification achieved through consent and based on principles of social justice and reconciliation.

Following her election to parliament at the 2019 general election, Hanna raised a “respectful protest” over the requirement for MPs to pledge allegiance to the monarch.

Hanna wrote to the commons speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, to raise concerns about the pledge – which is required by politicians before they can take their seats.

Taking part in the compulsory swearing-in ceremony, historically an awkward and contentious moment for nationalist politicians, she said: “I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law.”

Hanna added: “My allegiance is to the people of South Belfast in order to serve them.

“I’ve made this affirmation. My political commitment is to the Good Friday Agreement, relationships in Northern Ireland, between north and south of Ireland and between these islands based on mutual respect and co-operation.”

In a letter to Hoyle, Hanna wrote: “I submit this letter to you to register a respectful protest against the requirement that I make a statement of allegiance to the Crown as a precondition for taking my seat.

“I chose an affirmation rather than an oath, but the words do not reflect my outlook.”

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Hanna voted in favour of the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the 10-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union. In total, 13 Labour MPs joined the Liberal Democrats in supporting the motion, while the majority of the party abstained.

Winter fuel payment EDM: In September 2024, Hanna signed an early day motion (EDM) expressing concern over the government’s proposed changes to the winter fuel payment. The motion called on the government to “postpone the ending of winter fuel payments and establish a comprehensive strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality and low incomes among older people.”

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Hanna voted in favour of a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Hanna was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Ceasefire vote (November 2023): Hanna voted for a Scottish National Party (SNP) amendment to the king’s speech in the House of Commons calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war. Labour had tabled a rival motion, making a more moderate appeal for a “humanitarian pause” in the conflict.

Before Politics

Born Claire Aisling Hanna in Connemara, County Galway, Republic of Ireland, on 19 June 1980, she moved to south Belfast at the age of three.

Her mother, Carmel Hanna, served as the SDLP MLA for Belfast South from 1998 to 2010. She was a member of the executive as minister for employment and learning from December 2001 to October 2002.

Her father, Eamon, is a former general secretary of the party.

Hanna attended St Bride’s Primary School and Rathmore Grammar School in Belfast. She holds a BSc (Hons) degree in international relations from the Open University and a master’s degree in Law (LLM) from Queen’s University Belfast.  

Before entering elected politics, she worked in international development for over a decade, primarily in policy and education roles for the charity Concern Worldwide (2005-2015). Her work took her to countries including Bangladesh, Haiti, and Zambia.

Personal Life

Hanna is married to Donal Lyons, a fellow SDLP politician and former Belfast City councillor. They have three daughters: Eimear, Aideen, and Niamh.

She enjoys reading, attending arts events, and is a regular participant and volunteer at Parkrun events.

Trivia

In March 2025, Hanna spoke in the Irish language at prime minister’s questions – for the first time in history.

Marking St Patrick’s Day, Hanna said it was a fitting occasion to use the Irish language for the first time at PMQs as people around the world prepare to “celebrate their Irish heritage and culture”.

She extended an invitation to the prime minister, Keir Starmer, to attend the Belfast Fleadh Cheoil.

Hanna said: “Lá Fhéile Pádraig shona daoibh agus Seachtain na Gaeilge daoibh. Deis lenár dteanga agus ár gcultúr a cheiliúradh ar fud an domhain. Happy St Patrick’s day, everybody, and happy Irish language week.

“It is an opportunity to use Irish language and celebrate Irish culture across the world.”

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