Matthew O'Toole backs Claire Hanna - and says SDLP being led from London brings 'natural balance'

He said the South Belfast and Mid Down MP “represents the person who is best able to do what we need to do now as a party, in order top fulfil and deliver on the core aims of our party and our movement.

“Which is to end division – all the divisions on this island. We know that we have a challenge in terms of properly connecting our vision for an inclusive, reconciled new Ireland”.

Speaking to Cool FM on Friday Mr O’Toole said Ms Hanna is the person who can “connect that vision” with “the broadest possible number of people”.

He said that the SDLP’s organisation and grassroots had been “let decline” in certain parts of Northern Ireland, and she had the experience to fix that.

Colum Eastwood announced on Thursday he was standing down after nine years as leader, saying it was time for a change at the top of the party. He has said that he intends to remain as an MP to contribute to the New Ireland commission he helped to establish to facilitate communications around Irish unity.

The Foyle MP will formally resign at the party conference in October. He has already endorsed Ms Hanna as his potential successor.

Ms Hanna has not commented publicly, other than a social media post in which she said she would have more to say in the coming days after speaking to her family and team.

Speaking to the BBC earlier on Friday, Mr O’Toole was asked if it would be more difficult to lead an Irish nationalist party from Westminster, rather than Stormont.

“I think there is a natural complementarity and balance to us having a leader who is based at Westminster in this case in relation to Claire, and a leader at Stormont who is the leader of the opposition.”

He added: “I think we need to do two things. We need to hold the Executive to account, we need to provide the transformative accountability that I I think we are providing at Stormont”.