The SDLP has selected Councillor Roisin Lynch as its candidate for South Antrim in the upcoming Assembly election.
The SDLP’s Group Leader on Antrim and Newtownabbey Council, Cllr Lynch is a committed community activist and local businesswoman who said that she will be campaigning to give South Antrim an MLA who will put people first ahead of narrow personal or political gain.
Announcing the selection of Cllr Lynch, SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood MP said:
“South Antrim badly deserves a new kind of leadership and new political leaders. People here know that they have been let down by parties that put their own narrow self interests ahead of the needs of the people they represent.
“I have known Roisin Lynch for years and she is the most genuine politician, full of integrity, hope and ambition for the people she represents.
“As a businesswoman, working with local charities and mental health groups or serving as chair of St Comgall’s GAA, Roisin Lynch is steeped in this community. She has what it takes to be a great MLA and I know she’s going to fight to put the people of South Antrim first."
Councillor Roisin Lynch said:
“Everywhere I go in South Antrim I am stopped by people who are dejected, hopeless and feel utterly let down by the state of politics. Our communities are in crisis, they are dealing with huge price increases in everything from food to fuel, people face long waiting lists for urgent medical treatment, our education system is crumbling and the Executive has failed to provide support.
“I’ve been a business owner, I’m a mother and a grandmother and I know what challenges people are facing. While our MLAs have played political games for their own benefit, people here have been left worse off than they were five years ago. Enough is enough.
“The people I represent deserve better than years of failure and squandered opportunities. They deserve more than the politics of division and deadlock. I am putting the MLAs who have let our communities down on notice. I am going to fight everyday to give the people of South Antrim an alternative to 15 year of failure. Our people deserve a better brand of representative and I’m determined to give this area an MLA it can be proud of.”