Write a comment
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Alliance Councillor Cadogan Enright has resigned from the party and has returned to be an Independent councillor.
Cllr Enright claims that he has had no support from the Alliance party headquarters and said that the party is not interested in retaining the South Down Assembly seat in the 2027 elections.
In a statement on Facebook the Downpatrick councillor said "Today I have taken the difficult decision to resign from the Alliance Party. I will return to serving the people of my area as an independent councillor as I previously did for ten years before joining Alliance in 2022.
"As an Alliance councillor I have been restricted from saying anything remotely supportive about the Downe hospital campaign and have been chastised for calling for the restoration of health services in Downpatrick, that had been agreed under the 'Transformation' process."
Councillor Enright continued: "We have fought really hard against reckless SDLP and Sinn Fein plans to spend £50m on a Mournes Gondola and against a £30 million second council HQ in Newry. Alliance councillors in Newry, Mourne and Down have had to fend for ourselves in these campaigns – with no support from party HQ, despite sustained criticism from the bigger local parties - and I want to pay tribute to my exceptional Alliance council colleagues for their continued work and resilience in this regard, while long-standing constituency campaigns have been abandoned at MLA level."
Cllr Enright added: "I am now convinced that the party is no longer interested in retaining our South Down Assembly seat in 2027. I therefore feel I will be better able to represent my constituents and stand up for them on the issues that matter, as an Independent Councillor."
