by Gillian McDade
Long serving Cookstown SDLP Councillor Tony Quinn says he will be able to offer representation ‘across the sectarian divide.’
He announced his resignation from the party at the weekend. Now he plans to stand as an independent.
He says that the current political system was viewed by the "majority of the community as self-seeking and untrustworthy".
"My priority as an elected representative has always been the needs of my local community, and the greatest need for the community at the moment, I believe, is credible and trustworthy politics that unites and not divides," he said in a letter to the party.
"Whether we accept it or not, election after election the northern political parties are being viewed as contributing causes in the division of our communities and so I feel strongly that as an independent I can offer genuine representation across the sectarian divide."
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