Anne McCloskey to step down as Derry councillor as Covid ‘views differ” from party

The retired GP said she was stepping down because her views on Covid-19 differed from that of her party, Aontú.

However, she added that she would be remaining a member of the party.

It’s understood she resigned as national deputy leader of the pro-life party two weeks ago.

She has been an outspoken critic of calls for people to wear facemasks to counter the spread of coronavirus and has been critical of how cases and deaths are officially recorded.

Confirming her intention to resign in the next few weeks, she said: “It has been a privilege to serve the people of Derry at Council for the last 17 months especially so as a member of the new All Ireland movement, Aontú. In that time, I have done my best to make sure that our values of life, Irish unity and economic justice have had a strong voice on Council.

“I have also focused on the massive economic difficulties that exist here in the north west due to years of underfunding by Unionist parties and SF and the SDLP. I have worked hard to put Derry on the map for jobs and university investment. I will be stepping down as a Councillor to facilitate a new Aontú Councillor to take the reins. My views on Covid-19 are different from Aontú and, as a result, I am stepping down from this role. I am, however, committed to Aontú’s development in the future and will remain an active member”.

Party leader Peadar Tóibín said Dr McCloskey was held in “enormous respect as a brave and courageous friend and comrade throughout Aontú”

He added: “Anne has that rare quality in Irish politics - she has a back bone and is not afraid to question and challenge the status quo. We were delighted to have had Anne as a founding member of our movement just 22 months ago. Anne is a woman of conviction and has never held back in terms of effort as a doctor, as an elected rep and as a party activist. We thank her for all her help in the past and look forward to working with her in the future.”

“Aontú will hold a selection convention in Derry in the coming weeks to co-opt a successor to Anne. These will be big boots to fill but, with Anne’s help, we look forward to continuing to go from strength to strength in Derry.”