Senior UKIP role for Carrick resident

Councillor Noel Jordan, who won a seat on the Mid and East Antrim District Council in May, secured the new role at the branch’s annual general meeting on Thursday evening.

Mr Jordan commented “This was my first AGM as a member of UKIP and of course as a councillor so I feel highly honoured that the membership of UKIP NI had the confidence in my ability to nominate me first of all for the position of deputy chairman and then to vote for me to take the post.

“As an organisation UKIP is on the march as has been demonstrated with our recent council and European election results here in Northern Ireland and in the rest of the United Kingdom, results which we believe have provided a fantastic platform to build upon.”

A businessman and former fire union representative from Sunnylands, Mr Jordan welcomed party leader Nigel Farage to the borough during his campaign for a seat on the so-called super-council, which is sitting in shadow form until April next year.

He added: “Carrickfergus like every part of the United Kingdom showed they were ready for change when the elected me to serve this great town and the one thing this highlighted is that the people of Carrickfergus are exactly the same as all of the other regions of our United Kingdom in that they want and are demanding change.

“Mine and UKIP’s aim is simply to give it to them.”

The party’s deputy leader Paul Nuttall MEP was the keynote speaker at the AGM in Belfast.

Mr Nuttall said: “UKIP is the only fully national party truly committed to every part of the United Kingdom; with elected representatives now in England, Scotland, Wales and right here in Northern Ireland.

“We are making strides here as well. 25,000 people voted for us locally in the European elections. We now have one MLA and four elected councillors here in Northern Ireland. If you had told me a couple of years ago that we would have four councillors, and would receive 25,000 votes in our first European election in the province, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. That is how far we have come in such a short space of time.”

At the AGM, the following officers were elected:

Chairman - Cllr Henry Reilly

Deputy chairman - Cllr Noel Jordan

Secretary - Alan Lewis

Press and communications officer - Jonathan Lavery

Treasurer - Belle Hanna.