MARK DURKAN is to stand down from the SDLP leadership and the Assembly after next year's Westminster election in which he will defend his Foyle seat.
He made the announcement, the timing of which has stunned many in the Stormont party, during a live interview at lunchtime yesterday with BBC Northern Ireland.
A party statement was issued shortly afterwards which put the resignation in the context of ending double-jobbing whereby Mr Durkan and his most senior colleague are elected to both Stormont and Westminster.
"Mark Durkan has said both publicly and privately that if he is elected again as MP for Foyle he would be stepping down from the Assembly," the statement said.
"This position clearly has implications for the leadership of the party, which has led Mr Durkan to announce that he plans to stand aside as leader in the near future."
Party sources said last night they were surprised by Mr Durkan's move despite his comments about ending the dual mandate.
It was suggested that Dr Alasdair McDonnell is the early favourite to succeed, although social development minister Margaret Ritchie was also mentioned.
Dr McDonnell refused to comment yesterday until he had consulted others. "I have no wish to say anything at this stage until I have had the chance to discuss the situation with Mark Durkan and others," he told The Irish Times.
The SDLP Assembly party meets at Stormont at 10am today for its usual gathering before the plenary session of the Assembly.
The party statement stressed the importance of devolution and the Stormont institutions to secure the Belfast Agreement, adding: "The SDLP cannot be 'long-led' from Westminster."
It also claimed Mr Durkan is on the record as saying he "did not want to continue as leader after his 50th birthday, and did not want to do more than 10 years in the job".
Mr Durkan (49) succeeded John Hume in 2001.
The statement committed Mr Durkan to a central role in the party after he steps down.
"Mr Durkan believes there will be many important issues at Westminster which will have a big impact on devolution, its capacity and the quality of life here in the North," the statement added.
"In the future he will continue to play a strong role in the leadership of the party, and will remain fully committed to the SDLP, the Good Friday agreement and his constituents.
"As the SDLP moves to celebrate its 40th anniversary next year, the party intends to bring forward a number of new faces for the Westminster election and with an eye to local government and Assembly elections in 2011 . . . The process of change in the party leadership will now be addressed in a sensible and orderly fashion."
However, some senior members doubted if this will be the case.
One said the leader's position was immediately undermined once the announcement to step down had been made.
Others doubted whether Mr Durkan could credibly lead the party for up to eight months after expressing his wish to vacate the leadership.
Another wondered how the party would manage its next annual conference, which could decide the leadership, without an election.
One source said that by linking his planned resignation to the ending of the dual mandate, Mr Durkan was effectively "spiking the guns" of deputy leader Alasdair McDonnell.
It was also conceded that Ms Ritchie could find her ambitions to succeed her close party colleague, South Down MP Eddie McGrady, compromised.
Successor: McDonnell vs Ritchie?
A WIDE range of SDLP sources were of the view last night that just two candidates were prominent at this early stage.
Alasdair McDonnell (60) won the SDLP deputy leadership, succeeding Bríd Rodgers in 2004, but has never been politically close to leader Mark Durkan.
He won the deputy’s post after effective and concerted internal campaigning and galvanised his position in the party by sensationally winning the South Belfast Westminster seat in 2005 when the unionist vote was split.
His opponents credit him with considerable “networking” skills and with a strong local party machine but doubt his ability to lead especially in complex negotiations.
He is, in some regards, the mirror opposite of Mr Durkan and excels in areas where his leader is accused of being deficient.
A graduate of UCD and a family GP in Belfast for more than 30 years, he is the eldest of a large Glens of Antrim farming family and has strong GAA connections.
He first became prominent in the election in 1970 when he opposed the Rev Ian Paisley for the Westminster seat.
Margaret Ritchie (51) is the SDLP’s sole minister in the Stormont Executive and has earned popularity and respect within the party. A good organiser, she is credited internally with marking out clear ground for the party in the Executive, especially through her cutting of funding for some loyalist community groups.
Before winning a seat at Stormont, she served as Westminster secretary to Eddie McGrady who has secured South Down since 1987 and is seen as his natural successor. However, she may have to postpone any Westminster ambitions given Mr Durkan’s insistence the party move away from dual mandates.
She is popular and earned a standing ovation at the 2007 UUP conference thanks to her opposition to funds for certain loyalist projects.
Given the opposition of Durkan supporters to any McDonnell candidacy, Ms Ritchie could be a unity candidate for those wishing to avoid the deputy leader winning the leadership.
Neither Dr McDonnell nor Ms Ritchie has commented publicly on the leadership vacancy.
– DAN KEENAN