Ritchie’s battle to hold off Hazzard in South Down

Ritchie’s battle to hold off Hazzard in South Down

17 May 2017

ONLY five candidates will be contesting the South Down Westminster seat when voters go to the polls on June 8.

Nominations closed last Thursday with the SDLP’s Margaret Ritchie, Sinn Fein’s Chris Hazzard, the DUP’s Diane Forsythe, Ulster Unionist Harold McKee and Alliance’s Andy McMurray vying for the hearts and minds of voters in the run-up to polling day.

The quintet are among a total of 109 candidates standing for election in Northern Ireland in the Westminster poll and the last time just five candidates contested the South Down seat was in 2005 when the SDLP’s Eddie McGrady retained his seat.

While the DUP and Ulster Unionist candidates are keen to maximise the pro-union vote going into the election and Alliance’s Andy McMurray is hoping to maintain his party’s success in the constituency during the recent Assembly poll, the fight for the South Down seat will be determined by a straight shoot out between the leading SDLP and Sinn Fein candidates.

Sinn Fein are out to make history and secure the much-coveted Westminster seat for the first time, while Miss Ritchie will be battling hard to remain as the constituency’s parliamentary incumbent.

The battle will be tense and intriguing and while the focus of the Belfast media has been trained on potential upsets in other constituencies, there is a growing realisation that South Down is a key battle ground they must not overlook.

The contest between Miss Ritchie and Mr Hazzard is likely to be the tightest election race in 30 years, with the SDLP candidate insisting she is the best person to represent South Down at Westminster and retain the seat she has held since 2010.

Miss Ritchie said the people of South Down “need a strong voice asking the difficult questions and putting their needs at the top of the agenda,” while Mr Hazzard said the Westminster election is an opportunity to vote against the Tory Brexit agenda and austerity. 

He claims Brexit will be a “disaster” for the economy, for local business, for farmers and the wider agri-food industry, for the health service, for workers’ rights and border communities.

Both the SDLP and Sinn Fein are in overdrive mode as they ramp up their election campaigns with the SDLP conscious of the Republican party’s stunning success at the recent Assembly election. But a Westminster election is a different animal with tactical voting almost certainly coming into play in the absence of a joint unionist candidate.

Can Sinn Fein continue its recent election success or will a significant number of unionist voters opt to back Miss Ritchie to deny Republicans the Westminster seat? That is the key election question.

Ulster Unionist Harold McKee, who lost his Assembly seat several months ago, maintains the Westminster election is not a re-run of last year’s referendum on EU membership. He insists the focus must be on coming together to get the best deal possible for Northern Ireland as part of the Brexit negotiations and to resist those attempting to use the election as an attempt to destabilise the Union. 

DUP candidate Diane Forsythe, the daughter of Mournes councillor Glyn Hanna, will be contesting her first election with the mother-of-three looking forward to the challenge ahead. The 33 year-old said she is looking forward to taking a “positive unionist message” to people across the constituency and said a vote for the DUP is not just a vote for the Union, but for strong representation at Westminster.

The selection of Alliance candidate, Andy McMurray, raised a few eyebrows with many expecting Rowallane councillor Patrick Brown to fly the flag given that he substantially increased the party vote at the recent Assembly election when he secured 4,535 first preference votes.

Mr McMurray, who is a relative newcomer to politics and represents the Slieve Croob area, said he looks forward to representing Alliance “during a period of great uncertainty and instability in Northern Ireland” and is encouraging first time voters to get out and vote. He said more than ever, South Down needs a “progressive, liberal voice in Westminster.