Aontu councillor Anne McCloskey: I’ve quit but NI party members back me 100% over my anti-lockdown stance

A councillor who has quit her seat due to her outspoken opposition to lockdown has said that many fellow party members back her stance.
Dr Anne McCloskey in 2016Dr Anne McCloskey in 2016
Dr Anne McCloskey in 2016

Dr Anne McCloskey also strongly rejected the idea that she had ‘jumped before she was pushed’ by the leadership of her party, Aontu.

Dr McCloskey had seized a seat on Derry City and Strabane District Council in the 2019 elections.

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She polled more first-preference votes than each of the two Sinn Fein councillors standing in her ward of Ballyarnett (a district in the republican north west of the city).

She also narrowly missed out on a seat in Foyle during the 2016 Assembly election.

She was one of the early members of the newly-formed all-island, pro-life, republican party Aontu.

It is led by TD Peadar Toibin, who quit Sinn Fein in 2018 over its increasingly pro-choice abortion position.

Dr McCloskey (a working GP) was also Aontu’s deputy leader.

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Her resignation comes after she penned a string of strongly-worded opinion pieces and letters in the News Letter, decrying what she believes is the over-the-top reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.

For example in her resignation letter yesterday (published in full below) she said: “My deeply held conviction that the current policies of government are not compatible with the data now available, and that the cure is much worse than the disease.”

Yesterday she told the News Letter some people had tried to pursuade her to quit the party and stay on as an independent councillor, but she “wouldn’t do that to Peadar”.

She said: “I had to beg Paedar to let me resign as deputy leader. That was about a week ago. He did not want me to resign. What he does want me to do however is moderate my views. And I’m not going to do that. I am doing this to protect him, so he doesn’t have to fire-fight for me.

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“The membership in the north and leadership of the north are 100% behind me. Northern people are different. We’re not trusting of government. A lot of the northern membership are in agreement with my position on this.

“My views aren’t completely in line with the party. And I don’t expect the party to move to me. It’d be better if I juststepped aside for the duration of this crisis.

“I may be back again – if there’s an MLA seat I’ll probably stand for it... if I’m selected, obviously.”

In a statement last Friday announcing that councillor McCloskey was set to quit, Mr Toibin had said “Anne has that rare quality in Irish politics – she has a backbone, and is not afraid to question and challenge the status quo”.

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It is not yet known who will replace her on Derry City and Strabane Council for Aontu.

DR MCCLOSKEY’S RESIGNATION LETTER IN FULL:

I have, in consultation with the leader of Aontú, Peadar Tobín reluctantly decided to resign my seat on Derry and Strabane District Council.

I have regretfully decided that I can no longer participate in any aspect of an administration which does not act in what I consider to be the best interests of the people.

That Derry is locked up, and her citizens forbidden to carry out their normal social, economic, educational and family activities is in my opinion a flawed policy, and a grave injustice, and likely to have a much greater adverse impact on their lives than any harm caused by a virus.

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Council are of course required to implement policies decreed by Stormont and the UK parliament, but I cannot in conscience cooperate in implementing the denial of human rights and autonomy to the people I represent.

International scientific opinion now indicates clearly that lockups are not an effective method of preventing the spread of this illness, and their collateral damage in terms of health and economic outcomes will outweigh any benefit.

Furthermore, the use of RT-PCR testing which is neither diagnostic, nor a measure of ability to infect others to drive public policy is in my view flawed, and indeed immoral.

Every death with Sars Cov 2 is a sad loss to families and communities, but the greater loss of life due to the curtailment of normal medical and preventative healthcare seems not to have been fully considered in decision making by government or the medical advisory and administrative bodies at this time.

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I have signed the Great Barrington Declaration, and am involved in a community of medical doctors and scientists in Ireland who similarly advocate for a more focused approach to policy, in shielding the vulnerable, while allowing society and the economy to function.

My deeply held conviction that the current policies of government are not compatible with the data now available, and that the cure is much worse than the disease is not entirely congruent with Aontú policy across the island.

My outspoken advocacy in this regard poses a challenge to cohesion within our fledgling political movement, and as such, while remaining a member and continuing to work for our core values of Life, Unity and Economic Justice, I have reluctantly decided to step aside from my public duties at this time.

To represent the electorate of the Ballyarnett district, and the wider council area has been a challenging new role after a lifetime in medicine, but a very exciting and rewarding one.

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I wish to record my appreciation and sincere thanks for the work of last year’s Mayor Michaela Boyle, current Mayor Brian Tierney, the Chief Executive John Kelpie and all of the members, officers and staff of Council in this most challenging of times.

Their support in my role, and tolerance of my inexperience and mistakes is much appreciated. Our City and District is in very capable hands.

I will continue in my current role for the next few weeks, until a selection convention can be convened to appoint another Aontú member to be co-opted in my place.

Yours Faithfully, Anne Mc Closkey. MB

READ SOME OF DR MCCLOSKEY’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COVID DEBATE IN THE NEWS LETTER:

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