Veteran republican Ian Milne to vacate Assembly to contest council election

Magherafelt District Council Chairman Ian Milne welcomes the 3,000 children who took part in the visual displays at Meadowbank last Thursday to welcome the Olympic torch.mm24-309sr

Mid-Ulster Sinn FÃ©in MLA Ian Milne has confirmed he is to vacate his Assembly seat in order to seek re-election to local government.

He was commenting after being selected as a candidate to contest next May’s elections to Mid-Ulster Council in the Moyola district electoral area. He will be joined on the Sinn Féin ticket for Moyola by sitting Councillor Catherine Elatter and Donal McPeake.

“I am honoured to put my name forward to stand for Sinn Féin in the upcoming Council election for the Moyola district electoral area,” he said.

“This is where I was born and bred and it is an area that I greatly love. It has been a huge honour for me to serve as an MLA for Mid-Ulster over the past five years. I have always worked hard on behalf of all the people of the constituency.”

He added local government was where his passion has always been. “I served on the old Magherafelt District Council for eight years, including as chairman, and now I am really looking forward to getting back to focusing on the local issues and the local politics.”