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SDLP leader Durkan 'to step down' | SDLP leader Durkan 'to step down' |
(14 minutes later) | |
SDLP leader Mark Durkan has said he intends to stand aside as party leader after the next Westminster election, which is expected around May next year. | |
Mr Durkan said he will defend his Foyle seat but does not believe he should continue to hold a dual mandate at the Stormont Assembly. | Mr Durkan said he will defend his Foyle seat but does not believe he should continue to hold a dual mandate at the Stormont Assembly. |
He made the comments on BBC Radio Ulster's Inside Politics programme. | He made the comments on BBC Radio Ulster's Inside Politics programme. |
Mr Durkan said he already indicated he did not want to continue as SDLP leader after his 50th birthday. | |
The 49-year-old replaced John Hume as leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in 2001. | The 49-year-old replaced John Hume as leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in 2001. |
He said: "My position is that if I am elected again to Westminster as MP for Foyle I will be stepping down from the Assembly. | |
"I've said that openly on the record because I don't believe that that you can sustain dual mandates any longer." | |
Mr Durkan added that he believed Northern Ireland would be significantly impacted by cuts in public expenditure after the next election, and this had influenced his decision. | |
"If there is a Tory government elected, the implications in terms of the welfare system and other matters are such that I think there is more work to done at Westminster now. | |
"I think in that instance I need to be a full time MP for Foyle." | |
He also said that he did not believe that the SDLP, as a nationalist party, could "long be led from Westminster" but said he would to continue to play a strong leadership role in the party. |