Hanna wins South Belfast and Mid Down again by a landslide – The Irish News

Claire Hanna claimed victory in South Belfast and Mid Down at Westminster with another convincing performance.

Its majority of 15,000 in 2019 has decreased slightly and now stands at a solid 12,000.

Voters appear to have rewarded Ms Hanna for her work as an MP for the constituency over the past five years with another victory.

In her victory speech, she emphasized the special relationship she has with voters in this district, saying, “I feel like a very specific cog in this particular machine.”

She easily won the poll that evening, gaining 21,345 votes, giving her 49.1% support, making her the pre-election favourite in the redrawn constituency.

Speaking to The Irish News, Ms Hanna said she was “happy and relieved” that voters were returning to Westminster, but added that there was “a lot that needs to be done” in the next five years.

“A lot of the focus will be on the financial framework and the reform and stability of Stormont,” she said.

“This is a serious problem for our public services and it is something we can and should fix in this term.

Her other rival, Kate Nicholl of Alliance, came second with 8,839 votes (20.3%).

A strong performance by the former Lord Mayor of Belfast allowed the party to overtake the DUP and take second place.

With two MPs and a second place finish, the Alliance party has cemented its position as a force to be reckoned with in this constituency.

Turnout was 58.5% and was almost 10% lower than in 2019.

In the previous elections, turnout was 67.7%, but this decline is in line with what was seen across the north of the country during this election.

The constituency has almost doubled in size since 2019 – but changes to the seat made as part of the Boundary Commission review have not significantly affected the demographics.

This place is still considered one of the most socially, ethnically and religiously diverse in the north.

The best unionist result of the night was achieved by the DUP’s Tracy Kelly, who secured 6,859 votes (15.8%). She came third.

As a Belfast City Councillor for the Botanic DEA, she ran a quieter campaign compared to those of Ms Hanna and Ms Nicholl.

The UUP’s Michael Henderson came fourth with 2,653 votes (6.1%). This is the second consecutive unsuccessful election for Mr Henderson after he lost his seat on Lisburn and Castlereagh District Council last year.

He was followed by TUV’s Dan Boucher with 2,218 votes (5.1%) and former Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, Áine Groogan of the Green Party, who secured 1,577 votes (3.6%).