Sinn Fein's Dermot Nicholl to stand in Westminster Election

Sinn Fein councillor Dermot Nicholl and former Sinn fein MLA Cathal O'hOisin

Dermot Nicholl was nominated to run in East Derry by party members on Tuesday evening.

“I am very honoured and privileged to have been selected as the Sinn Féin candidate for East Derry in the up coming Westminster election,” said the 50-year-old.

Colr. Nicholl first entered politics in 2011, when he was elected to the former Limavady Borough Council. This is his first time to enter any election other than local governments polls.

The Causeway Coast and Glens councillor said the June 8 poll is “an opportunity to vote against the Tory Brexit agenda and austerity”.

The East Derry candidate said: “In the last Assembly election, people came out and voted for equality, integrity and respect, and that vote made a difference.

“Now, as we face into a Westminster election where the Tories and the DUP want to drag us out of the EU against our will, the vote of the people can make a difference once again.

“Brexit will be a disaster for the economy, for local business, for farmers and the wider agri-food industry, for the health service, for workers’ rights and border communities.

“Staying in the EU is vital to our future prosperity but it must be a changed EU.

“There can be no EU frontier across Ireland. Trade tariffs and border controls are unacceptable.

“Sinn Féin is the only party to put forward a credible alternative to Brexit with our case for designated special status for the north within the EU.

“That case will not be won at Westminster but across Ireland and throughout Europe.

“What Sinn Féin wins in this election is a win for everyone who wants a new progressive politics, which is modern and inclusive.”

Previous Sinn Féin candidates have included the sitting MLA Caoimhe Archibald; former MLA and Limavady mayor, Cathal O’hOisin, and veteran Sinn Féin politician, Francie Brolly.

In the last Westminster election in 2015, Caoimhe Archibald polled 6,859 votes for Sinn Fein.

Cathal Ó hOisín polled 6,742 votes for Sinn Fein in 2010 in the Westminster poll.