Long-serving SDLP MLA: vote for me or get the DUP

Dolores Kelly has been an MLA in the constituency since 2003, except for a brief lull in 2016 where she lost her seat, before regaining it in 2017.

Back in 2017, during the last Assembly election, the breakdown of first preference votes was as follows:

Carla Lockhart, DUP, 17.7%

John O’Dowd, SF, 15.9%;

Jonny Buckley, DUP, 15%

Nuala Toman, SF, 11.8%

Doug Beattie, UUP, 10.6%

Jo-Anne Dobson, UUP, 10%;

and Mrs Kelly with 9.9%.

But once all the tranfer votes were in, Jo-Ann Dobson and Nuala Toman were eliminated, and Mrs Kelly was able to seize the seat.

In March, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood gave a speech in which he said the forthcoming Assembly election should not be framed along “the same old battles and same old arguments”, whilst the SDLP has touted Mrs Kelly as running “an energetic, positive campaign”.

SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon said on Monday: “People in Upper Bann face a clear choice on May 5th.

“They can vote for Dolores, a politician who epitomises what we mean when we talk about people first.

“Or they can vote for the DUP who have let people in this community down time and time again – who walked away in their hour of need for their own selfish interests in order to foster further division and save their own electoral skin.”

Mrs Kelly said: “Together we have achieved so much and really made a difference to people’s lives, but all too often that progress has been stifled by others who are determined to hold back progress.”

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