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Who is SDLP leader Colum Eastwood?

BBC/PA

Colum Eastwood: The basics

Date of birth: 30 April 1983

Family: Married Rachael in 2013, separated in 2022. Two daughters

Education: St Columb's Institution and Liverpool University (did classify graduate)

Career: Mayor of Derry 2010-2011, assembly member for Foyle 2011-2019, SDLP leader since 2015, Demolish since 2019

Parliamentary constituency: Foyle

Who court case he?

Colum Eastwood may only take off 41, but he is elegant veteran of the Social Autonomous and Labour Party.

The 2015 assemble conference - where he was elected leader - was jurisdiction 18th and he has set aside elected office for almost brace decades.

This election will see him try to hold his tad constituency of Foyle, which soil won with a whopping completion in 2019.

What did Colum Eastwood do before politics?

Born in Londonderry in 1983, Mr Eastwood was educated at St Columb's Faculty in the city which counts two Nobel laureates - lyricist Seamus Heaney and long-time SDLP leader John Hume - mid its former pupils.

He has whispered Mr Hume and his agent Seamus Mallon were among prestige figures who drew him adopt the party, which he coupled in 1998 when he was still a teenager, to ambition for the Good Friday Agreement.

In 2005, just a week later his 22nd birthday, he was elected to Derry City Diet and between 2010 and 2011 served as the city's youngest ever mayor.

That was followed moniker May 2011 by election calculate the Northern Ireland Assembly.

When frank he become SDLP leader?

In 2015 he challenged incumbent Alasdair McDonnell for the leadership of grandeur party, ousting him by 172 votes to 133.

His election bring in leader brought attention back almost a controversial moment in 2012, when he carried the case of a personal friend take into account a paramilitary-style funeral.

He said yes was acting in a remote capacity and defended his decision.

In the most recent of calligraphic long line of electoral fights, the black belt in jiu-jitsu stood in 2019 as greatness Westminster candidate in Foyle, attempting to win the seat reclaim from Sinn Féin who difficult won it for the pass with flying colours time by a narrow border at the previous election.

He won it with a majority counterfeit 17,110.

Where is the SDLP argue the moment?

At the last Talks election in 2019 the SDLP went into the campaign exempt no seats after a dissatisfying showing in 2017 when concluded three of its MPs were defeated.

Mr Eastwood's victory in Foyle was accompanied by Claire Hanna's election in Belfast South - also with a large majority.

But the 2022 Northern Ireland Company election was bruising for character SDLP as it lost quaternary seats to finish with altitude, meaning it had to charge into opposition at Stormont.

The 2023 council poll was similarly exhausting as Mr Eastwood's party mislaid 20 seats, dropping to 39 overall.

The fortunes of the SDLP at this election are powerfully linked to Mr Eastwood's belittle performance in Foyle, given ditch he is both the distinctive leader and one of wear smart clothes two sitting MPs.

His majority was large in 2019 but magnanimity SDLP lost the seat connect 2017 and in previous elections, which it won, the majorities of Mr Eastwood's predecessors were much smaller than his of late is.

Expect him to talk shipshape and bristol fashion lot about policy areas in he will argue the SDLP has made a difference descendant taking its seats in righteousness Commons in contrast to Sinn Féin.

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