In 2010 Margaret Ritchie took over the leadership of the party she joined 30 years earlier.
Former SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie at the St Patrick’s Centre, in her home town of Downpatrick, Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. Picture by Peter Morrison
Former SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie has said housing should be the number one priority for Stormont, saying a focus on it lapsed after the SDLP left the power-sharing Executive.
In a wide-ranging interview with the Belfast Telegraph, the member of the House of Lords chose housing and said her approach to it has been her greatest achievement, with the building of around 2,000 social homes each year — much higher than the current figure.