FOUR candidates have already put their names on the South Down ballot paper for this summer’s general election.
After months of speculation about the timing of such a poll, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who had previously said that there would be one in the “second half of the year”, made an announcement last Wednesday that the Westminster election would be held on 4 July.
Since then, Chris Hazzard (Sinn Féin), who has held the local parliamentary seat since 2017, and three of this constituency’s sitting MLAs – Colin McGrath (SDLP), Diane Forsythe (DUP) and Andrew McMurray (Alliance) – have confirmed that they will all seek to become South Down’s MP in five weeks’ time.
In 2017, Mr Hazzard wrested the seat from the SDLP’s Margaret Ritchie – she was first elected to Westminster in 2010, succeeding party colleague Eddie McGrady, who had been MP since 1987 – and retained it in the snap election called by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson in December 2019.
In the 2019 contest, the Sinn Féin MP – he holds the post and title until parliament is dissolved tomorrow (Thursday) – received 16,137 votes, though this signified a decrease on his 2017 total (20,328 votes).
In the winter 2019 poll, SDLP candidate Michael Savage came second with 14,517 votes, ahead of the DUP’s Glyn Hanna (7,619), Alliance’s Patrick Brown (6,916), the UUP’s Jill Macauley (3,307), and Aontú’s Paul Brady (1,266).
Both Mr Savage, a Newry councillor, and Mr Brown, who became an MLA in 2022, left frontline politics in the last year.
Ms Forsythe, elected to the Assembly two years ago, and Mr McMurray, who left his Slieve Croob council seat to succeed Mr Brown in April, both contested the 2017 general election for their parties, and respectively received 8,867 and 1,814 votes.
Mr McGrath, who has been an MLA since 2016, will contest his first Westminster poll in July.
Mr Hazzard said that he was “delighted” to have been selected as his party’s candidate for the election – which he described as “an opportunity to endorse strong leadership, positive change and a commitment to work for all” – and that he hopes to “continue serving our amazing community”.
“Serving as South Down MP has been a huge honour of mine,” he stated.
“Each and every day as MP, I have the privilege of meeting so many people; helping thousands each year with issues, and working to better the lives of all across South Down.
“Delivering for the people of South Down is my priority.
“In this election, you can send a clear message about what you want for the future.
“By voting for Sinn Féin, you are endorsing strong leadership, positive change, and a commitment to work for all.”
Mr McGrath said that he felt “privileged to be the SDLP’s candidate”, and would be “honoured to be South Down’s MP”.
“For me, this election is about two big missions – fighting for South Down and fighting against the Tory government that has attacked public services, public sector workers, and hard-pressed households for 14 years,” he continued.
“South Down has had seven years where our voice and our vote hasn’t counted at Westminster.
“So, while the Tory government has been crushing our communities with austerity, demeaning victims and survivors with the shameful Legacy Act and sending weapons to destroy communities in Gaza, people in South Down haven’t been able to register our opposition.
“After seven years of silence, we now have five weeks to find our voice again.”
Ms Forsythe said that, for the past two years, she has been “proud to represent South Down at Assembly level, working hard for everyone”, and, in July, hopes to “give the people of South Down a strong opportunity to return a new MP for the area”.
“I have been selected by the party, unanimously backed by the South Down Association, and, subject to Executive ratification, I look forward to fighting the forthcoming general election campaign in South Down,” she added.
“This election will be a real opportunity for unionists in South Down to rally behind their South Down unionist MLA and send a message that they want to strengthen the unionist position both in South Down and across Northern Ireland in this election.”
Mr McMurray stated that it was “a great honour to be selected to stand for Alliance in South Down”.
“For too long, the Conservative government in Westminster has not given adequate or due care to Northern Ireland and South Down in particular,” he said.
“Alliance has gone from strength to strength in South Down, increasing our vote share at all levels of government over the last number of years.
“It was disappointing, but not surprising, to see the DUP and Sinn Féin framing this election as an ‘opportunity to strengthen the union’ and about it being a ‘case for unity’.
“However, this election should be about amplifying our representation in Westminster to champion our schools, our health system, our businesses and industries, our environment and our planet, but, for the last seven years, our voice has gone unheard.”
