DUP Councillor Billy Walker has challenged the new Independent grouping on the new Newry Mourne and Down District Council saying that their recent initiative is “overstated”.
Two weeks ago five Independent Councillors and Councillor Patrick Brown, Alliance, decided to form a group of six, but this has upset several councillors and Councillor Walker said “the only thing that they can do is lobby in the chamber at meetings  – but this has been going on before – there is nothing new about parties grouping with each other to vote on particular issues. It happens all the time.
“It looks as though these councillors are claiming that they have the rights of a political party which is wrong. One now Independent stood down from the Alliance Party, another left the SDLP, and with with one Alliance Councillor elected at local election along with two Independents, they cannot claim to be the third largest party or grouping in the Council. That is just nonsense.
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DUP Councillor Billy Walker has thrown down the gauntlet to the new Independent grouping on Newry Mourne and Down District Council but they maintain they are just a progressive, cooperative group addressing bread and butter as well as key issues.[/caption]
“Sinn Féin is the largest, followed by the SDLP, DUP, UUP in that order with a UKIP Councillor, and Alliance Councillor and the rest made up of Independents.
“The only thing they can really do is vote as a block in council but councillors are doing that already in different ways. There is nothing new here. It is just misleading for them to assume the mantel of a party. It is just fantasy politics. They should be concentrating on their own constituencies and the people who elected them.
“I have spoken to senior officials on the council and have been assured that this group has no legal standing as a party. They are just trying to bluff the people out there. A lot of decisions are taken ‘in committee’ and these Independents can’t vote as they are not elected on to these committees. Therefore they are not a force to be reckoned with.
“Therefore I have to dispel the myth that they are anywhere near a party. During the recent important discussions in Council in the Active Communities committee over the swimming lessons etc, Cllr Cadogan Enright was in Scotland canvassing for the SNP! Councillors such as myself and Laura Devlin (SDLP) did attend these meetings and lent our support.
“Two important presentations took place recently with the Ambulance Service and the two Health Trusts that cover the council area and also with Transport NI, and only two out of the six could be bothered to attend the first one and only one attended the Transport NI one. So how can they say there fighting the important issues when they don’t even turn up to quiz these government departments?
“I have a great cross-party relationship with Cllr Terry Andrews in the SDLP. We are labelled as the Chuckle Brothers of Rowallene – we work on bread and butter issues and politics does not come near this. And retired DUP councillor William Dick too worked for the benefit of all his constituents. So I don’t think the people out there are that gullible and certainly I can’t see the parties in the chamber wearing this… if they are just a loose alliance of councillors then that may be fine, but they cannot have the trappings and rights of a political party.”
Councillor Patrick Brown Responds To Walker’s Challenge
Speaking on behalf of the grouping of six councillors, Councillor Patrick Brown set out the stall for the Independents’ grouping explaining that he recognised that this group was not a political party but a group with shared interests. He said: “What this new grouping is about really is political cooperation.
“It is not a political party per se, but a collective of councillors who are agreeing to work together on some issues where there are common interests and opportunities. We are concerned about the bread and butter issues too and because we cover the various District Electoral Areas we are not in competition with each other.
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Councillors on Newry Mourne and Down District Council who have formed an Independent grouping: from left, Kevin McAteer, Patrick Brown (Alliance), David Hyland, Jarleth Tinnelly, Patrick Clarke and Cadogan Enright.[/caption]
“We just intend to offer support to each other and do not expect there to be an electoral gain. The DUP are clearly worried about being displaced as the third largest party in the chamber. We all agree, we are not a party, but a loose group of councillors, and we have no legal standing.
“We do not have any false pretensions… our way forward is through cooperation, and trying to explore mutual benefits in the interests of our constituents, the people who voted for us.
“This is a completely different way of doing things in politics. We are breaking the mould of traditional politics where parties dominate the strategies etc on council. I don’t expect the main parties to feel comfortable with this development but that is what political progress is all about. It has opened up places for the Independents such as on the Travellers Forum but we recognise because of the d’Hondt system we are limited in committee representation.
“I am currently finishing off my masters degree in interntional politics and I manage a charity called the Long Well Walk, an African clean water initiative which has made a huge impact so far. I have personally much to bring to this grouping in council as have the other independent councillors. I can see the benefits of this initiative well beyond the initial political branding.
“So I don’t expect this group to be involved in electoral politics. We are prepared to work with anyone in politics to improve the life of people in our Council area for the greater benefit and move beyond the narrow confines of the past political norms and party political structures in Northern Ireland.”
Council Spokesperson Explains Background
A Council spokesperson said: “The group of Councillors is made up of one member of the Alliance Party, and five independent members. The Alliance Party and UKIP with single councillors are political parties and recognised as such by the Council.
“Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has a Party Representatives Forum – consisting of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of Council, and a representative from Sinn Fein, SDLP, DUP, the Ulster Unionist Parties, one single representative on behalf of the smaller political parties on the Council ie Alliance and UKIP and the independent grouping has nominated one of its members to attend the Party Representatives’ Forum.
“In accordance with the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 2014, a councillor who stood as an Independent when elected is treated for the term of council as being an Independent councillor, notwithstanding that independent councillors may choose to form a grouping of Independents. Such a grouping would not have the same legal standing for the purposes of the 2014 Act as a registered political party.”
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