2010 Social Democratic and Labour Party leadership election

April 2022 2010 Social Democratic and Labour Party leadership election presidential no 2001 Social Democratic and Labour Party leadership election 2001 2011 Social Democratic and Labour Party leadership election 2011 5–7 February 2010 1st Pref. Percentage x160px Margaret Ritchie 222 54.3% x160px|Alasdair McDonnell Alasdair McDonnell 187 45.7% Leader Mark Durkan Margaret Ritchie An election for the leadership of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) was held 5–7 February 2010. Margaret Ritchie defeated her only challenger, Alasdair McDonnell, by 222 votes to 187.New SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie aims to be Northern Ireland's First Minister Minister https://web.archive.org/web/20120303012409/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/new-sdlp-leader-margaret-ritchie-aims-to-be-northern-irelands-first-minister-minister-14671931.html 2012-03-03 Belfast Telegraph, 8 February 2010. Background The former SDLP leader, Mark Durkan, announced his intention to stand down as leader of the SDLP in September 2009,Durkan announces intention to step down https://web.archive.org/web/20100212063603/http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0920/durkanm.html 2010-02-12 RTÉ News, 20 September 2009. citing that he did not want to continue to lead the party past his 50th birthday, and also to allow him to concentrate on his parliamentary career. Subsequently, a leadership election was scheduled for the SDLP annual conference in February 2010.McDonnell/Ritchie to contest SDLP leadership https://web.archive.org/web/20120425160955/http://sdlp.ie/en/index.php/newsroom_media/newsarticle/mcdonnell_ritchie_to_contest_sdlp_leadership/ 2012-04-25 Social Democratic and Labour Party website, 16 November 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2011. Candidates Two SDLP members contested the leadership election. These were: Alasdair McDonnell - MP for South Belfast as well as MLA for the corresponding constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly. McDonnell was also the Deputy Leader of the SDLP prior to the leadership election. Margaret Ritchie - MLA for South Down and Minister for Social Development in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Results Below is a table summarising the result of the leadership election: 2010 Social Democratic and Labour Party leadership electionCandidateVotes%Margaret Ritchie 222 54.3Alasdair McDonnell18745.7 Margaret Ritchie was duly named the new SDLP leader on 7 February 2010. References Category:Social Democratic and Labour Party leadership elections Category:2010 political party leadership elections in the United Kingdom