Belfast South and Mid Down: MP, 2024 result and local figures
The MP for Belfast South and Mid Down is Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party), returned on 4 July 2024. Claire Hanna took the seat for Social Democratic & Labour Party in July 2024 with 21,345 votes (49.1%), ahead of Kate Nicholl (Alliance) on 8,839. 43,491 valid votes were cast by an electorate of 74,749, 58.2% of those registered. The majority was 12,506.
Key figures
What the figures show
The business register lists 8,220 local units for March 2026.
2,887 children in Belfast South and Mid Down were in relative low income families after housing costs in 2024/25, the Department for Work and Pensions estimates: 15.1% of under-16s, where the UK share is 26.0%. On the before-housing-costs measure it fell from 13.8% in 2021/22 to 13.7% in 2024/25.
The claimant count for September 2026 was 2,095, or 2.4% of the working-age population. That is down from 2,160 twelve months before.
MP
Claire Hanna, Social Democratic & Labour Party
- MP for Belfast South and Mid Down since 4 July 2024
- In the House of Commons since 12 December 2019
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by Claire Hanna on this site
In Parliament
What Claire Hanna said most recently in Parliament, word for word from Hansard (from 17 June 2026 to 21 October 2026). Hansard search returns 81 spoken contributions by Claire Hanna since 4 July 2024.
Q8. Last week, three-year-old Maryam Ghanem was pulled from her home in Gaza, badly burned, having watched her mother be killed by an Israeli airstrike.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I thank all those who have contributed to what has been a relatively constructive debate over the past two days.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I thank the Minister for his very thoughtful statement. I was in sixth year in 1997, and the nightclub that Robert Hamill’s killers were leaving was a haunt of mine and my classmates. I think that is why this murder remains in my memory so viscerally.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Community cohesion is deeply threatened by the violence and menace that took place on the streets last month, which included deliberate orchestration and paramilitary flags and trappings that now fly as bold as brass from lampposts in my constituency and in many others.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
I, too, wish to pay tribute to Jo Cox and her family, and to the commitment in her name that we tackle division and extremism.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Read from the Hansard API on 26 October 2026. Up to two items per debate; remarks under 40 characters are left out. All contributions in Hansard.
General election, 4 July 2024
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Change in share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claire Hanna | Social Democratic & Labour Party | 21,345 | 49.1% | −4.2 |
| Kate Nicholl | Alliance | 8,839 | 20.3% | +4.9 |
| Tracy Kelly | Democratic Unionist Party | 6,859 | 15.8% | −9.6 |
| Michael Henderson | Ulster Unionist Party | 2,653 | 6.1% | +2.5 |
| Dan Boucher | Traditional Unionist Voice | 2,218 | 5.1% | |
| Ãine Groogan | Green Party Northern Ireland | 1,577 | 3.6% | +3.5 |
Result summary as published: SDLP hold. Change in share is in percentage points against the notional 2019 result on the new boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library, election results (data, read 14 October 2026).
Results on these boundaries
| Date | Election | First | Second | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2024 | General election | Social Democratic & Labour Party 49.1% | Alliance 20.3% | 12,506 | 58.2% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Social Democratic & Labour Party 53.3% | Democratic Unionist Party 25.4% | 13,322 | 66.2% |
Only results on the constituency boundaries first used at the 2024 general election are shown. The 2019 figures are the House of Commons Library's notional estimates of how votes cast in 2019 would have fallen on these boundaries, not a result that was declared. Source: House of Commons Library, constituency results.
Councils
Belfast South and Mid Down covers wards in 3 local authority areas, listed by the number of wards in the constituency.
- Belfast N09000003
- Lisburn and Castlereagh N09000007
- Newry, Mourne and Down N09000010
Who has power over Belfast South and Mid Down
Every body that makes decisions for Belfast South and Mid Down, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
- Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive makes law for Northern Ireland on devolved subjects
Level 6: National government
- Belfast South and Mid Down this page: Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
| Figure | Period | Publisher | Read | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claimants as a share of residents aged 16 to 64 | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimant count | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Children in relative low income families, after housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, before housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Business sites (local units) | March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
"Data" is the file or query each figure was read from (its SHA-256 is in the link title); "area" shows the same table for this constituency alone.
Common questions
Who is the MP for Belfast South and Mid Down?
Claire Hanna (Social Democratic & Labour Party), elected on 4 July 2024, according to UK Parliament records.
What was the 2024 general election result in Belfast South and Mid Down?
The House of Commons Library records 21,345 votes for Claire Hanna of Social Democratic & Labour Party and a majority of 12,506; 58.2% of the electorate cast a valid vote.
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Belfast South and Mid Down?
The ONS claimant count for September 2026 is 2,095, 2.4% of the 16 to 64 population.
How many children in Belfast South and Mid Down live in low income families?
2,887 children under 16, 15.1%, after housing costs in 2024/25, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Built 14 October 2026 from official records; how these pages are compiled. This page lists what the record shows and gives no verdict on the MP or the area. Link moved or figure wrong? Tell us.