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CLAIRE HANNA IS to become the new leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) at the party’s annual conference in Belfast today.
Hanna has been a MP for Belfast South and Mid Down since 2019. Following the resignation of leader Colum Eastwood in August, Hanna announced her intention to seek the leadership of the party.
Eastwood, who has served as leader of the party since 2015, said that there was “absolutely no doubt in [his] mind that Claire Hanna has what it takes to be the leader of the SDLP”.
The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly and two MPs in Westminster – Eastwood and Hanna.
Eastwood has previously taken aim at Sinn Féin’s policy of not taking its seats in Westminster, saying that it is “important” that voices in Northern Ireland are heard.
Hanna was first elected as a Councillor for Belfast City Council in 2011 for the Balmoral District Electoral Area. She was re-elected in 2014. In 2015, she was co-opted into the Northern Ireland Assembly as an Member of the Legislative Assembly, and re-elected in 2016 and 2018 until her election to Parliament in 2019.
The SDLP is the official opposition in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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@Seán Ó hAnnracháin: Agree the Irish Health Service consumes 11% of our GDP v 9% average for other EU countries. Transparency needed on unit production. How many total manhours per procedure (direct and all indirect) v international benchmarks? Please publish.
- 2 Tier Irish Health System is obscene.
- Belfast buses from West Cork for cataract operations.
‘Overlooked’ as in intentionally underfunded to scare people into the arrms of private health insurance companies.
“That’s the standard technique of privatization: defund, make sure things don’t work, people get angry, you hand it over to private capital” – Noam Chomsky
@The Risen: Funding has increased by 1/5 over the past 5 years, so the HSE is definitely not being “underunded”, but epically mis-managed. But don’t let facts get in the way of your little rants.
@The Risen: nothing underfunded about our health service… It’s run by a bunch of interest groups who are more concerned with their share rather than the health of the nation. Top heavy management that wasn’t thinned out in the move from Health Boards to the HSE maintains the lack of value and continuing inefficiency of any investment. Hospitals owned or managed by “patrons” despite being funded and developed by the state limit the mobility and efficiency of trained staff. Working practices designed to ensure as much staff as possible are paid at higher levels and a ridiculous consultant contract all contribute to ensure that any individual procedure actually costs more than the equivalent in a private setting, any of the double jobbing consultants will confirm this.
@The Risen: You say this because the HSE SHOULD BE a leftists’ wet dream – a big public sector (union dominated) organisation running our health system for the benefit of the public. But it’s a disaster. But that’s ok, because just blame the mean Gov or those evil capitalists. Hate to burst your bubble, but the HSE is the way it is because it is dominated by public sector vested interests (i.e Unions). There is no real accountability. There is no desire from within for change and any significant change is fought tooth nail because the status quo suits the special interests (i.e PS unions)- they’ve carved it out this way. At least if you’re paying for a service, the provider has an interest in providing you a good service. The HSE bureaucrat has no such interest, they are paid regardless.
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