Hazzard is upbeat after blow

Hazzard is upbeat after blow

13 May 2015

THERE had been talk of Sinn Fein making major inroads into the SDLP vote in this election but it wasn’t to be.

It was his first time standing as a Sinn Fein Westminster candidate and Chris Hazzard seemed pleased and relieved the vote had mainly held up.

After hearing he had come second in South Down with 12,186 votes — down slightly from the high profile Caitriona Ruane’s 12,236 five years ago — he congratulated the SDLP’s Margaret Ritchie on her re-election before going on to thank his own team.

“It was a fantastic effort,” he said. “It has been a Trojan effort this year as usual; a big thanks to everybody who pounded the streets and knocked the doors over the past number of months.

“A big thanks to the people who voted in big numbers for myself as a Sinn Fein candidate, big numbers again believing in the Sinn Fein project.

“Now we approach the centenary of the 1916 Rising with powerful elections across this island next year in terms of the Assembly and Leinster House.

“Thank you for the huge endorsement of the Sinn Fein project.”

Speaking afterwards Mr Hazzard denied he was a little disappointed by the result. He said Sinn Fein’s policy of not taking its seats in Westminster was “not really a big issue on the doors”.

“It’s my first time and I was a fresh face,” he said.

“Turnout is down 1,000 and the SDLP vote has gone down over 2,000. We are happy.”

The 30 year-old has been an Assemblyman since 2012, brought in to replace Willie Clarke, who left to concentrate on council work. At the time he was the youngest MLA.

Mr Hazzard is now confident Sinn Fein can build on its vote in upcoming local elections.

“I’m a fresh face with new ideas and people were willing to take a chance,” he said.

“For our vote to stand up we are delighted with that.”

He said say, however, that politicians needed to make politics relevant to their voters.

“We are looking at a turnout of 57 per cent,” he said of the South Down turnout. “We need to find ways of engaging with the society we represent.”

Mr Hazzard said he had enjoyed campaigning and had had good company from dedicated party supporters along the way.

Asked how tired he was, a still sprightly looking Mr Hazzard admitted he may need some new shoes: “I walked 27 kilometres yesterday. I checked the app — 38,000 steps.”