Baroness Margaret Ritchie of Downpatrick is a Northern Irish politician with extensive experience in both devolved and Westminster politics. She served as Leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party from 2010 to 2011, having previously represented South Down as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly between 2003 and 2012. During her time in the Assembly, she held the position of Minister for Social Development in the Northern Ireland Executive from 2007 to 2010. Ritchie went on to serve as Member of Parliament for South Down from 2010 to 2017, representing the constituency at Westminster throughout this period.

In 2019, she was appointed a life peer, initially sitting as a non-affiliated member of the House of Lords before joining the Labour benches in October 2021. Throughout her career, Baroness Ritchie has focused on social policy and the political development of Northern Ireland. She now writes commentary for Comment Central.