Dungiven man to contest Benbradagh DEA in upcoming election for Aontú

Aontú has selected Liam McElhinney to contest the Benbradagh DEA in the upcoming Local Election.

Announcing his candidacy yesterday, Mr McElhinney said: he was honoured to have been chosen to contest this upcoming local election.

“Working both in the Meet Schools with children with special needs and as a teacher for many years before that, I’m acutely aware of the needs of our community.

“Being immersed in our community by coaching Derry GAA For All has shown me how so many in our community have been left behind by the establishment parties.

“Children with special needs in particular are not being given the support they need in our education system,” he said.

"Aontú is the fastest growing political movement both North and south. Its elected representatives have shown that they are willing to stand up and put the interests of their community above political games.

“Aontú is calling on MLAs to lose their salaries if they won’t do their job. It would not be tolerated in any other walk of life.

“We are also calling for the end to the system where one party can crash the Assembly over and over again or block and Assembly from functioning and we want to devolve economic power from London to Belfast so Stormont can actually help people.

“Benbradagh has been left behind by the Stormont parties. We live in a beautiful area, from the castle to the old priory, there is so much opportunity for us to attract inward investment through tourism into our community.

“Yet, we’ve seen shop after shop close on our main street. By developing infrastructure in the area, the community can reap the economic benefits of tourism.

"From representing Derry in both football and hurling, to coaching our local teams, I truly love our community. I am dedicated and ready to work hard to improve the lives of our people," he said.