Election Cycle 2016 – Mid Ulster
At the start of April 2016 the President of Cycling UK (and Channel 4 News presenter) Jon Snow contacted all Northern Ireland Assembly Election candidates to ask for their support in three simple policy asks around cycling investment, building a greenway network and delivering an Active Travel Act.
The responses received from candidates standing in Mid Ulster will be listed below. You can also click on each name to contact your local candidates through Twitter or Facebook to ask them to respond if they haven’t already. (Social media contact details are not available for some candidates.)
| Name | Party | Investment | Greenways | Legislation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Buchanan | DUP | ? | ? | ? |
| Comments: | ||||
| Alan Day | UKIP | YES | YES | YES |
| Comments: “I think I can support all three although I have not had time to study this subject in any detail.” | ||||
| Linda Dillon | Sinn Féin | ? | ? | ? |
| Comments: | ||||
| Neidin Hendron | Alliance | YES | YES | YES |
| Comments: “As a party, Alliance supports fully and is committed to ensuring that the people of Northern Ireland have access to new and better provisions for travel, including cycling which has a range of benefits including health, environmental and also economical.
“As a current MLA, Chris Lyttle has worked hard to promote and encourage the benefits of cycling within the Assembly. This includes creating and chairing the All Party Assembly Group on cycling, as well as working along with and supporting organisations such as NI Greenways to futher develop and build MLA support for cycling. “As a candidate for Alliance I therefore pledge my full support all three of your implementations including:
“If elected I will work to develop further and encourage the use of cycling to its full potential across Northern Ireland.” |
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| Hanna Loughrin | TUV | ? | ? | ? |
| Comments: | ||||
| Ian McCrea | DUP | ? | ? | ? |
| Comments: | ||||
| Patsy McGlone | SDLP | ? | ? | ? |
| Comments: | ||||
| Ian Milne | Sinn Féin | YES | YES | YES |
| Comments: ” I can support the 3 points as outlined” | ||||
| Michelle O’Neill | Sinn Féin | YES | YES | YES |
| Comments: “Yes to investment , Yes to greenways , Yes to legislation.” | ||||
| Sandra Overend | UUP | YES | YES | YES |
| Comments: “When I was Assembly Private Secretary to Danny Kennedy, as the then Minister for Regional Development, I saw first-hand the Ulster Unionist Party’s commitment to building a coherent and comprehensive cycling strategy, and became involved in promoting cycling through the Department’s Cycling Unit. I wanted to build on events like the Giro d’Italia to create a lasting legacy for cycling commuters and to encourage a greater uptake of cycling around Northern Ireland.
“As we set out in our Manifesto, the Ulster Unionist Party, if part of the Government, would realise the long-term vision set out in the 25 year cycle strategy. This would be a major commitment to the future of cycling in Northern Ireland, and would have long-term benefits for the future for cyclists in Northern Ireland. This commitment would include supporting the development and implementation of a network of traffic-free infrastructure, and the accommodation of active travel being a consideration in planning new developments. “A greater up-take in cycling for leisure and commuting would see major health and well-being benefits for the population in Northern Ireland, as well as the significant environmental and infrastructural benefits. As such, an investment in long-term cycling strategy would be good for Northern Ireland; good for our roads; good for our environment; and good for our health and well-being.” |
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| Hugh Scullion | Workers Party | YES | YES | YES |
| Comments: “Many thanks for getting in touch and good luck with this campaign!
“We are delighted to be able to support the three initiatives you propose and agree that their full implementation can make a significant difference to health, the environment and the economy.
“As Workers Party candidates we are fully committed to a safer, healthier environment, a healthier population and to alternative forms of travel and leisure opportunities.
“The ‘Investment, Greenways and Legislation’ strategy will require not just the commitment of individual candidates but inclusion in the next Programme for Government and a public commitment to joined up implementation across a number of Executive departments and a robust and innovative approach to funding and development
“We are happy to give a commitment that we would work towards those ends.”
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| Stefan Taylor | Greens | YES | YES | YES |
Comments: “I am happy to support these action requests.
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DUP – Democratic Unionist Party
SDLP – Social Democratic and Labour Party
TUV – Traditional Unionist Voice
UKIP – United Kingdom Independence Party
UUP – Ulster Unionist Party
If you’re a candidate and would like to share your views on our questions to make Northern Ireland a better place for cycling, then we want to hear from you. Please email us at nigreenways@gmail.com and we’ll update this page as soon as possible.
Election Cycle 2016 is a joint effort by the good people at:
