Councillor quits Greens to make switch to SDLP after Assembly election failure

Mr Lee acknowledged the Green Party’s disastrous election result, in which they lost both MLAs, “may have been a factor” in his departure.

He is Presbyterian and comes from a union background. He has a degree in theology, is considering becoming a minister and describes himself as “a person of faith”, but supports the SDLP’s position on Irish unity.

Born in Carryduff, he was elected to Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council in 2019 and will stand again in next year’s local elections.

Mr. Lee (43) joined the Green Party eight years ago. “I’ve always had concerns about climate change, but having children has motivated me to take action to save the planet for future generations,” he said.

When asked why he left the party, he said: “It was not an easy decision, but I already feel welcome, wanted and valued in the SDLP.

“I’m a Social Democrat, and the party’s policies on social and economic justice, well-funded public services, protecting the environment and challenging the decisions that led to climate change reflect my own beliefs.

“I’ve decided Alliance isn’t for me because they’re too right of center.”

Asked if internal tensions in his former party led to his resignation, Mr Lee said: “I’m not interested in trying the Greens. I don’t want to go into that.

“I want to go on good terms. I want to leave in a positive way out of respect for the friends I’ve known for so long.

“I’m not angry with anyone in the Greens. I’ve formed lasting friendships with good people who are doing great work in their own communities. I wish them all the best but this is the right move for me.”

Asked whether the defeat of Clare Bailey in South Belfast and Rachel Woods in North Down affected his resignation, Mr Lee said: “There is no doubt that losing the two seats in Parliament was a bitter blow.

“It may have been a factor in my departure, but it’s much more complicated than that. The SDLP also had a very tough choice. There is no security in politics.”

On the future of the Greens, Mr Lee said: “It will be a big challenge to win back these parliamentary seats in the short term. You have a mountain to climb. The poor election result was not due to the failure of the Greens, but to the rise of the alliance.”

Mr Lee, Lecturer in Religion at Belfast Metropolitan College, described his journey from a union background to a party supporting Irish unity.

“My family immigrated to Canada in 1987 and I went to school in Toronto,” he explained.

“I came home and I said to my father, ‘There are Catholics in our class,’ and he said, ‘That’s how it is over here. They don’t care about those things.’ I wondered why we got separated in Northern Ireland.

“When we returned home, I was a unionist by default because that’s how I was raised. My first vote was in the 1998 general election after the Good Friday Agreement, for a union party.

“The year before I started at Queen’s University I was in Chicago on a student exchange program. Americans loved the Irish. They didn’t understand the division. They didn’t see any difference between us and the Republic. If you were from Northern Ireland, you were Irishman.

“I started to feel more Irish. I started Queen’s as a moderate unionist, but by the time I graduated I had stopped being one.”

Mr Lee said that after the Good Friday Agreement, people “felt more free to explore their identities”.

He said: “I’ve traveled more to Dublin, Galway and Cork. I felt connected to these places. I didn’t see it as a foreign country, I felt like I belonged there.

“I like the SDLP’s idea of ​​a new Ireland, there’s something exciting about it.

“It’s not about clinging to the past, it’s about exploring new possibilities. Some people might think that’s strange for a Protestant, but I don’t think it’s that unusual after Brexit.

“Brexit has revealed the democratic deficit here. Even if 100% of people voted to stay, it wouldn’t have made a difference – it doesn’t feel right. SDLP’s new Ireland policy is sevisible, positive and measured.”