Northern Ireland · 74,749Boundary · 2023

Belfast South & Mid Down

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Created in the 2023 boundary review, replacing Belfast South.

Dispatch
Apr 2026

A new constituency created in the 2023 boundary review. Won by SDLP in its first election in 2024.

Belfast South and Mid Down's MP has been most visible recently as a vocal advocate on Northern Ireland-specific issues -- pushing HMRC for transparency over child benefit clawbacks from families who travel via Dublin, calling for a coordinated Executive response to the Langdale Report on systemic failures, and lobbying party leaders and the Prime Minister on Stormont reform. In Westminster, her recent votes have tracked closely with Labour on the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill -- backing the government's rejections of Lords amendments on school admissions, uniform pricing, and a proposed social media ban for under-16s -- while splitting from the government on free school meals, where she backed the Lords' broader framing over the government's alternative.

Her voting participation rate of 21% is well below the Commons average, though this is a common pattern for Northern Ireland MPs, whose constituents are often governed by Stormont on devolved matters. When she does vote, she is a 100% party-line voter with no rebel votes on record. Her speeches -- 69 contributions across 42 debates -- concentrate on economy and jobs, defence, fiscal policy, and social care. She sits on the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, which aligns with her focus on cross-border policy and Stormont governance. Compared to her SDLP colleagues, she votes notably more often in favour of parliamentary scrutiny (+19 percentage points above party average) and less often in support of progressive taxation (-24 points).

104
Commons votes
This parliament
74.7k
Electorate
2024 GE

Votes less often than 98% of MPs.

Current Member of Parliament

Claire Hanna

Claire Hanna

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Claire Hanna is the Social Democratic & Labour Party MP for Belfast South and Mid Down, and has been an MP continually since 12 December 2019.

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Voting at a Glance

A new constituency created in the 2023 boundary review. Won by SDLP in its first election in 2024.

2024 General Election

§ 06This week in Westminster.Live · today’s sittingOrder Paper · refreshed daily

Hanna’s scheduled Commons activity this week — whipped divisions, oral questions, debates — drawn from the House of Commons Order Paper.

§ 07The record, at a glance.107 divisions voted

Two readings of the same data. Issue volume shows where Hanna has cast the most ballots — a proxy for engagement, not direction. Notable votes are the moments where the whip was free or where they broke ranks.

Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted · cumulative this Parliament
Economy
20
Welfare and Benefits
18
Constitution and Democracy
17
Employment
16
Taxation
13
Education
11
Notable votes
Free votes and rebellions — moments the MP’s own judgment matters more than the whip

No rebellions or free votes recorded yet.

§ 08The local picture.Northern Ireland

Constituencies are not uniform. Below — the local council make-up, key facts worth knowing, and the neighbouring seats on either side.

Local-government election data has not yet been ingested for this constituency.

Next · dig deeperEvery division, question, speech and committee record

Mine the full
record → Data view

Filter divisions, search written questions, read every speech since the election. Sortable, searchable, downloadable.

More constituency data is being added, including local issue analysis and historical trends. Learn about our methodology. View data sources & attribution.