Lagan Valley branch members trying to drum up support for Labour Party

Branch secretary Keith Gray, who describes himself as “a Corbyn supporter”, rejoined the party in May last year.

The 38-year-old, who lives in the Old Warren area, is now working to spread the word about the local branch and its political ambitions.

He stressed that the ultimate aim of the branch is to see Labour candidates contest elections in Northern Ireland - something the party’s National Executive Committee has so far refused to allow.

“We have about 110 members in Lagan Valley at the minute which is not bad, but we are trying to raise the profile of the branch and attract more members,” he said.

Keith, who has cerebral palsy and suffers from depression, is planning to put his name forward for the role of Disability Officer with the Labour Party NI.

His ambition is to stand for Labour in the local government elections in the Lisburn area in 2019.

The Lagan Valley branch of the Labour Party meets on the first Wednesday of each month in the Tuesday Bell in Lisburn Square. The next meeting is scheduled to take place on November 2 at 7pm.

The meeting is open to all branch members and potential new members.

Other Lagan Valley branch office bearers include chairman Stephen Gillespie and treasurer Simon Crothers.

For more information about the Lagan Valley branch, check out the ‘LabourLagan’ Facebook page or follow @LabourLagan on Twitter.

Keith can be contacted via email - [email protected]