The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party has confirmed he hopes to run for a Stormont Assembly seat in Lagan Valley.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson currently represents the Co Down constituency as an MP in the House of Commons for the DUP while his party colleagues First Minister Paul Givan and Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots represent the area in Stormont.
Sir Jeffrey previously indicated he planned to return to the Assembly after he was elected as party leader earlier this year.
If Sir Jeffrey is selected by the DUP to run in Lagan Valley and wins a seat in the five-seat constituency, it could come at the expense of his party colleagues or the Ulster Unionist Party Alliance or the SDLP.
“We haven’t yet selected our candidates, we’re in the process of doing so,” Sir Jeffrey said.
“I have put my name forward as a candidate for Lagan Valley. I have had the privilege and the honour of representing the Lagan Valley constituency now for over 25 years and it is my intention to continue representing that fine constituency.”
He was speaking during a visit to the Greater Shankill Community in Council in West Belfast along with former Belfast Lord Mayor Frank McCoubrey who has submitted his name to become an Assembly candidate in that constituency.
Unionism has not had an elected representative in the Assembly for West Belfast since the 2007 election when the DUP lost the seat Diane Dodds had won there in 2003. Since then the constituency has also shrunk from six seats to five.
The party has described West Belfast as a key target in the next Assembly election, expected to be held in May.
“The unionist people of West Belfast have been denied a strong and positive voice in the Northern Ireland Assembly for far too long. I am determined to ensure that these communities are no longer ignored,” Sir Jeffrey said.
