Alliance councillor 'disillusioned with politics' and quits party

The Alliance councillor Eric Hanvey has quit the party and will not stand in the next local election, saying he has become "disillusioned with politics".

Hanvey was elected to Belfast City Council in 2019.

He is the second councillor in Belfast to leave a political party and become an independent in recent weeks.

Paul Doherty, the former deputy Lord Mayor, left the SDLP (Social Democratic and Labour Party) in a dispute over a council vote on a statue of IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands.

Hanvey's resignation means the Alliance Party now only has ten seats on the 60-strong council.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, he said politicians have become "more concerned about staying in power rather than doing what's right for the people".

Hanvey also described his "frustrations" with Alliance choosing to go into the executive rather than opposition.

He said the party has been damaged by being in the executive.

"We've [Alliance] always been good, and the reason I joined Alliance, was in identifying the actual problems that lie at the heart of Northern Ireland politics.

"I think sectarianism is the big issue that we've never dealt with - that the executive always shies away from - and I think we need to reform the institutions urgently, and I think that we could have done more to push that and be louder about doing it if we'd been outside of those institutions."

Hanvey also said the party have "wasted a generation of young politicians who would have been absolutely brilliant in opposition but haven't got that chance".

Hanvey was also critical of the "culture wars" within Belfast City Council.

"It just feels like there isn't a point to it, there isn't actually an effort to make life better for people, it is about looking at what will play best for the party or for whoever it is that's speaking - it's not about making a difference.

"I dread going into full council meetings, it is deeply depressing."

He said exchanges at council meetings have left him "frustrated, fed up, angry with it".

Hanvey said while he doesn't regret getting into politics, he does not feel he has made a difference and said the experience has been "utterly frustrating".

In a statement, an Alliance Party spokesperson said: "We want to thank Eric for his years of service to the party, to the council group, and to the people of Lisnasharragh.

"We wish him all the very best for the future."