Sorcha-Lucy Eastwood is a Northern Irish politician who has served as Member of Parliament for Lagan Valley since 2024.
22 Facts About Sorcha Eastwood
1.
2.
Sorcha Eastwood was born in Lisburn and has lived there her whole life.
3.
Sorcha Eastwood has characterised her family as "political but not party political" and "very community-minded".
4.
Sorcha Eastwood has a mixed loyalist and republican background, and her family volunteered across both communities.
5.
Sorcha Eastwood's mother was dyslexic and left school at 15.
6.
Sorcha Eastwood has relatives with other disabilities, which sparked a lifelong interest in disability rights.
7.
Sorcha Eastwood studied law and politics for a year at university before dropping out and starting an apprenticeship in retail management at Tesco, becoming one of their youngest store managers on a pilot scheme.
8.
Sorcha Eastwood then studied business and economics at Ulster University, with a special interest in human resources and employment.
9.
Sorcha Eastwood ran in the 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election as an Alliance Party candidate in Belfast West.
10.
Sorcha Eastwood received 747 first preference votes and was eliminated on the first count.
11.
Sorcha Eastwood was an Alliance candidate again later that year, this time for the 2017 United Kingdom general election, running in Belfast West.
12.
Sorcha Eastwood came 5th, with 731 votes, roughly maintaining Alliance's percentage share of the vote from the previous general election.
13.
Sorcha Eastwood was elected in May 2019 as a councillor on Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, representing the district electoral area of Castlereagh South.
14.
In 2020, Sorcha Eastwood was awarded compensation after suing a former DUP councillor for accusing her of being an "IRA mouthpiece".
15.
Sorcha Eastwood, alongside David Honeyford, was an Alliance candidate for the 2022 Assembly election in Lagan Valley.
16.
Sorcha Eastwood polled 8,211 first preference votes and was elected on the fourth count.
17.
Sorcha Eastwood took the seat formerly held by Alliance Party turned Independent MLA Trevor Lunn, who did not run for re-election.
18.
Sorcha Eastwood appeared on BBC Question Time for the first time on 19 October 2023 in Lisburn.
19.
Sorcha Eastwood ran again in Lagan Valley at the 2024 general election, winning the seat with 18,618 votes, a majority of 2,959.
20.
Sorcha Eastwood is the first non-unionist MP to be elected for the constituency.
21.
On 5 November 2024, Sorcha Eastwood joined the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee.
22.
On 8 June 2017, Sorcha Eastwood married Dale Shirlow in Lisburn.