Deirdre quits Tory party

BALLYMENA councillor Deirdre Nelson has quit the Conservative Party - just nine months after joining the party from the DUP.

Cllr. Nelson confirmed that she will carry on with her duties as a councillor for the remainder of her term.

"I can confirm that I resigned from the party [on Thursday] but other than that I am making no comment at this stage," Cllr. Nelson said.

Cllr. Nelson was elected to Ballymena Borough Council in 2005 as a member of the DUP but left the party in June last year. Announcing her resignation from the party at a council meeting, she said she had been “unhappy with the direction the party has taken since the loss of Dr Paisley as leader”.

At the same meeting, Cllr. Nelson said she would: “continue to serve my constituents to the best of my ability and, in time, I trust that they will see the wisdom of my decision”.

Cllr. Nelson’s latest decision is thought to be due to a lack of confidence in how the Tories and Ulster Unionists handled the constituency nominations for the Westminster election, and follows on from what she had described as a “nerve racking” but ultimately unsuccessful, selection process.

No one from the Conservative party was available for comment.