Butler resigns from Council position

Back in April Mr Butler said he would be resigning in line with his Party's stance on double-jobbing.

"I am standing down," confirmed Mr Butler. "The Party's position on this is that anyone who is a councillor and an MLA should only have one job.

"I wish to thank the staff of Lisburn City Council for their support and to the voters who re-elected me over the years."

Mr Butler had been a councillor on Lisburn Council since 1997 and was a member of Lisburn Council's Leisure, Planning, and Strategic Policy Committees.

He is a former member of the Lisburn Partnership Board, which administers European peace money throughout Lisburn and was a member of the South Eastern Education and Library Board from 2001 to 2005.

He was also the vice-Chair of the Long Kesh/Maze Regeneration Panel, which was set up to oversee the regeneration of the former prison.

Mr Butler was elected as MLA for Lagan Valley in the assembly election of March 2007. He sits on the assembly's Employment and Learning Committee and the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee.

He is Sinn Fein's representative on the Assembly Commission, which is responsible for the running of the assembly and Stormont buildings.

He has stood in the assembly elections of November 2003 and June 1998 for Sinn Fein in Lagan Valley, and also stood for the party in the Westminster elections in May 2005.

Mr Butler has campaigned to make Lisburn into a new inclusive city for all and is known across Lagan Valley due to his tireless campaigning on behalf of local people.