General election 2024: 'Good vibes... I am confident SDLP have held Foyle and South Belfast' says Mark H Durkan
A senior SDLP figure has said there is a “good enough vibe” from party members in Foyle that they have managed to hold onto that seat – adding the same seems true of South Belfast too.
Mark H Durkan, an MLA for Foyle, indicated that Colum Eastwood (party leader and last Foyle MP before this election was called) will be back in Westminster, as will Claire Hanna – the party’s other erstwhile MP.
Prior to polling day, Colum Eastwood had said he would chalk up simply retaining those seats as victory.
Speaking at the Magherafelt counting centre tonight, Mr Durkan, a former environment minister, told the News Letter: “I’d be confident enough we’d retain the seat [in Foyle].
"I’m obviously confident as well that we’ll retain South Belfast – and we’ll be keeping a close eye on South Down too.”
South Down had been held by the SDLP from 1987 to 2015, when Margaret Ritchie lost her seat to Sinn Fein’s Chris Hazzard.