Former UUP councillor Linzi McLaren to run as SDLP Stormont candidate

A former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) councillor has been selected to run as an SDLP candidate in the Stormont assembly election next May.

Linzi McLaren, who left the UUP in October 2025, is set to contest South Antrim.

In a statement, the former police officer said her "values have not changed but my perspective has".

SDLP leader Claire Hanna said that building a new Ireland "means reaching beyond traditional political identities, listening to people whose experiences are different from our own".

McLaren, who is from Antrim, described her selection as a "homecoming" - both in returning to her native constituency and in finding what she describes as her political home in the SDLP.

"At the heart of my decision to stand is a simple belief - politics should deliver for people," she said.

"Unfortunately, in recent years there has been more decay and dither than delivery, but I believe the SDLP is offering a different kind of politics that puts hope, ambition and practical action over the sort of tribal politics that have dominated for far too long."

She added that more people are thinking about the kind of future they want for themselves and their families.

"For some of us, the answer may be different from the one we grew up with. That should be something politics makes space for rather than fears."

Hanna added that McLaren's journey "reflects conversations that are happening in homes and communities" across Northern Ireland.

"We want the SDLP to be a political home for people who believe that Northern Ireland can work better today while having an open, respectful and ambitious conversation about our future."