Margaret Mary Ritchie, Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (born 25 March 1958 in
Downpatrick
Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the b ...
), is an Irish
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...
who was the
Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) from 2010 to 2011. She was previously a
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs; ga, Comhaltaí den Tionól Reachtach; sco-ulster, Laa-Makkan Forgaitherars) are representatives elected by the voters to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
About
The Northern Ireland Assembly has 90 ...
(MLA) for
South Down from 2003 to 2012, and was the
Minister for Social Development in the
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...
from 2007 to 2010. Ritchie was the
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) for
South Down from 2010 to 2017. She became a
life peer in 2019 initially as a non-affiliated member, and then from October 2021 as a
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
member.
Political career
Lady Ritchie of Downpatrick is a graduate of
The Queen's University of Belfast
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, and served as parliamentary assistant to
Eddie McGrady
Edward Kevin McGrady (3 June 1935 – 11 November 2013) was an Irish nationalist politician of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Down from 1987 to 2010.
McGrady was also a Member ...
, MP, from 1987 to 2003. Ritchie became a councillor on
Down District Council
Down District Council was a Local Council in County Down in Northern Ireland. It merged with Newry and Mourne District Council in April 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Newry, Mourne and Down District C ...
in 1985 and was Vice-Chairman (1992–93) and Chairman of the Council (1993–1994). She has also served as International Secretary of the SDLP and as an alternate member of the European Committee of the Regions.
She was nominated as the Social Development Minister in the
Northern Ireland Assembly by the SDLP which took effect on 8 May 2007. Ritchie served as the sole SDLP minister in the Paisley/Robinson-McGuinness
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...
up to 2010.
Leadership
She became the leader of the SDLP, succeeding
Mark Durkan
Mark Durkan (born 26 June 1960) is a retired Irish nationalist politician from Northern Ireland. Durkan was the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from November 2001 to October 2002, and the Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Pa ...
on 7 February 2010, and was elected
MP for
South Down on 6 May 2010.
On
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
2010, Ritchie became the first leader of an Irish nationalist party to wear a
remembrance poppy
A remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn in some countries to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. Remembrance poppies are produced by veterans' associations, who exchange the poppies for charitable donations used to g ...
. She wore it at the wreath-laying ceremony at the
cenotaph
A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
in
Downpatrick
Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the b ...
. In Northern Ireland, the wearing of poppies is controversial as it is seen by many as a political symbol representing support for the
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
. Because of this, it has long been the preserve of the
unionist/
loyalist community. She received praise from several unionist councillors for this.
In December 2010 she launched a verbal attack on
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
by urging voters in the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
not to vote for Sinn Féin in the next Irish general election, describing their politics as 'sectarian' and causing 'division'. A
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
spokesperson described the comments as "nonsense" and "an attempt to score cheap points".
In 2011, she voted against the
military intervention in Libya.
In the
2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election
The 2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election took place on Thursday, 5 May, following the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly at midnight on 24 March 2011. It was the fourth election to take place since the devolved assembly was establis ...
, the SDLP lost two seats and saw its vote decline by 1%. On 27 July 2011 it was reported that she faced a leadership challenge from deputy leader
Patsy McGlone
Patsy McGlone (born 8 July 1959) is an Irish politician from Ballinderry in Northern Ireland. He is a Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly for Mid Ulster, and former Deputy Leader of the SDLP (2010– ...
. ''
The Phoenix'' reported that only one
MLA,
Alex Attwood
Alexander Gerard Attwood (born 26 April 1959) is an Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician, who served as Minister for Environment in the Northern Ireland Executive from 2011 to 2013. Atwood served as a Member of the Leg ...
, was prepared to back her and that "she will be humiliated if she puts her leadership to a vote". She stepped down in November 2011.
In a leaked US diplomatic cable, Ritchie was branded "wooden" and had her leadership of the SDLP questioned. Also she was considered to be burdened "with what some deem an unpleasant speaking voice" and lacking the "political muscle and business acumen" to rebuild the SDLP.
Ritchie announced when leaving the leadership of the SDLP that she would also vacate her seat in the
Northern Ireland Assembly in order to concentrate on her role as a Member of Parliament, and the SDLP subsequently selected retired headteacher Seán Rodgers to replace her at
Stormont. She submitted a letter of resignation to the Assembly at the end of February 2012, to take effect on 31 March.
Post-leadership
Ritchie spoke to senior
Ulster Bank
Ulster Bank ( ga, Banc Uladh) is a large retail bank, and one of the traditional Big Four (banking)#Ireland, Big Four Irish clearing banks. The Ulster Bank Group is subdivided into two separate legal entities: NatWest, National Westminster Ban ...
officials to emphasise the need for them to fully reimburse customers following their computer failure in 2012, saying: "Many customers are still experiencing difficulties with Ulster Bank in that they haven't been fully reimbursed for the money they lost as a result of the bank's computer system failure. This has been compounded by a complete lack of communication from the bank throughout the difficulties their customers have been experiencing."
She lost her seat in the
2017 UK General election to the
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
candidate,
Chris Hazzard
Chris Hazzard (born 20 August 1984) is an Irish politician from Sinn Féin who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Down since the 2017 United Kingdom general election, when he defeated incumbent Margaret Ritchie of the Social Dem ...
.
Peerage
On 10 September 2019 it was announced that Ritchie had accepted a
life peerage as part of
Theresa May's resignation honours list. Ritchie was created The Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick, of
Downpatrick
Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the b ...
in the
County of Down, on 16 October 2019. Due to the SDLP policy of not supporting appointments to the House of Lords, Ritchie resigned from the SDLP and decided to take a non-affiliated position in the chamber. However, on 20 October 2021, she joined the
Labour Party and now sits as a Labour member.
References
External links
*
Margaret Ritchie's WebsiteStratagem profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritchie, Margaret
1958 births
Living people
20th-century women politicians from Northern Ireland
21st-century women politicians from Northern Ireland
Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
Female members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Northern Irish constituencies
Leaders of the Social Democratic and Labour Party
Members of Down District Council
Members of the Northern Ireland Forum
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Down constituencies (since 1922)
Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive (since 1999)
Northern Ireland MLAs 2003–2007
Northern Ireland MLAs 2007–2011
Northern Ireland MLAs 2011–2016
People from Downpatrick
Social Democratic and Labour Party MLAs
Social Democratic and Labour Party MPs (UK)
UK MPs 2010–2015
UK MPs 2015–2017
UK MPs who were granted peerages
Women ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive
Women councillors in Northern Ireland
Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II
Labour Party (UK) life peers