Election to the Northern Ireland Assembly

Following his election to the Northern Ireland Assembly in May 2011, Eastwood was appointed SDLP representative on the committee of the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister. He sat on the Northern Ireland Assembly committees on Standards and Privileges, and the Environment and was appointed to the post of Assembly Private Secretary to the Minister of the Environment Alex Attwood in 2010.

In 2012 he drew criticism from Unionists including Jim Allister after carrying the coffin at the paramilitary funeral of a former Irish National Liberation Army member in Derry. A masked Real Irish Republican Army gunman fired a volley of shots over the coffin, although Eastwood stated he was not present at the time of the gunfire. He defended his attendance at the funeral saying the deceased was a personal friend and added "I wasn't concerned at the time about who was standing beside me, or about what flag or otherwise was draped over the coffin."^[6][7] It later emerged that party colleague Mark H. Durkan also attended the funeral.^[8]

On 14 November 2015, Eastwood contested the leadership election held at the SDLP's annual conference. He beat the incumbent, Alasdair McDonnell, by 172 votes to 133.^[9] Eastwood was re-elected to the NI Assembly in 2016 and 2017, receiving 5,000 and 7,240 first preference votes, respectively.^[10]

2016

2017

Election to the House of Commons

On 12 December 2019 Eastwood was elected as Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Foyle in a landslide victory against Sinn Féin candidate, then incumbent, Elisha McCallion. He was the first of the new MPs elected at the 2019 general election to make his maiden speech in the Commons.^[12]

On 11 November 2020 during a Westminster Hall debate Eastwood called for a full and independent judicial inquiry into the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane in 1989.^[13]

Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)

Following the SDLP's poor election results in the 2014 local elections, the 2014 European Parliament election and the 2015 Westminster election, the then SDLP leader and MP for South Belfast Alasdair McDonnell resisted calls to stand down, including from the party's deputy leader Dolores Kelly.^[14][15]

At the SDLP's Annual Conference on 14 November 2015, Eastwood contested the leadership election where he defeated the incumbent, Alasdair McDonnell, by 172 votes to 133.^[9]

In July 2021 Eastwood used parliamentary privilege to reveal the identity of Bloody Sunday's 'Soldier F' in the House of Commons.^[16]

In December 2023, his key adviser Ruaidhri O'Donnell resigned.^[17]