NI21 won’t contest in NW this time out
Basil McCrea told the Sentinel the party simply hasn’t had time to organise in Londonderry and Limavady to the required extent.
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Hide AdLast Wednesday (April 23) the party announced 47 candidates would contest local elections in the east of the province, whilst party chairman, Tina McKenzie, would contest for a seat in Brussels.
But whilst it’s too soon to contest in Londonderry today, Mr McCrea believes there’s a constituency here for NI21 to exploit.
“Unfortunately, the party, because it’s less than a year old, just didn’t have the infrastructure in place to run candidates in Derry,” he told the Sentinel.
“We do have a good bit of support there, however, and Tina, of course, is running on a Northern Ireland wide basis, so she’s a candidate NI21 supporters can vote for,” he added.
Mr McCrea is no stranger to the North West, of course.
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Hide AdLike local DUP MLA and Assembly Speaker William Hay, Mr McCrea is the scion of Ulster-Scots from Ramelton, and knows the area well.
He told the Sentinel: “We definitely intend contesting next time.
“I’ve made four or five trips up, not just to Derry, but to places like Bready, and the reaction has been very positive.”