McCann looking forward to '˜ferocious election' in Foyle

People Before Profit Foyle MLA Eamonn McCann appealed directly to working class Protestants to abandon the DUP

Speaking as the resignation of Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness was tendered on Monday, Mr. McCann, who has repeatedly called for a fresh poll as the only way out of the RHI impasse, said people want change.

“We are not doomed to suffering a constant battle between a form of militant republicanism on the one hand and a form of militant unionism on the other, forever,” said Mr. McCann.

“The fact remains that even if they had managed to cobble together some sort of a resolution to the current RHI crisis there would be another crisis coming along down the line.

“The Executive is inherently unstable, even when issues have nothing to do with orange and green, as was the case with the RHI scandal, it still ends up being sectarianised.”

Mr. McCann said people have told him he’s mad to have called for an election given that seats in Foyle will be reduced from six to five if an election does go ahead.

But he is confident local electors will be even more receptive to the People Before Profit message than they were during the party’s breakthrough in the North last May when Mr. McCann received 4,176 first preferences in Foyle.

“The DUP think people in working class areas like Irish Street, Nelson Drive and Newbuildings and so on are dummies, that they’ll come out and vote for them in droves, despite all that’s gone on.

“We believe they won’t. I could be wrong. But let’s put it to the test.”

“There will be a ferocious election as both the DUP and Sinn Féin will be throwing everything at it, however, we are ready for it.”