Local Green Elected Chair of NI Executive

Conor Quinn, Chair of NI Green Party

Lisburn man and convenor of the Lagan Valley Green Party, Conor Quinn, has been elected chairperson of the Green Party in Northern Ireland. The election took place at the party conference which took place last weekend at Ballydugan Mill, Downpatrick.

Ballydugan Mill

The annual conference debated a range of issues, including a call to lift the veil on political donations and to ban corporate donations to political parties. Key note speakers at the conference included the Green Party MLA Brian Wilson and the Minister for the Environment in the Republic, Mr John Gormley.


The conference heard opposition to the proposed increase in student fees and a call for increased investment in railway infrastructure. Mr. Quinn moved a motion condemning the decision by Minister for the Environment Edwin Poots to approve the proposed chicken waste incinerator in Glenavy.  The conference also discussed the party’s position towards the Alternative Vote referendum and adopted a position to oppose the introduction of AV on the basis that the proposed changes do not go far enough in delivering proportional representation at Westminster.

Commenting on his election, Mr Quinn said, “I am absolutely delighted to have received the endorsement of my party colleagues as Chair for the crucial election period that lies ahead. The Green Party in Northern Ireland is looking to build on its current MLA seat at next year’s Assembly elections and to grow our team of councillors. While this new responsibility will be a challenge, I am confident that I can contribute to electoral success next year. My responsibilities as party Chair will, however, not distract me from also working with our Lagan Valley constituency team in running both Assembly and Lisburn City Council election campaigns.”

Shop local to support your local economy and environment

Lagan Valley Green Party is pointing out the many benefits of local shopping and are calling on the people of Lisburn and the surrounding area to “Shop local, buy local”.

Using local shops has a huge number of benefits. Supporting local businesses can help create jobs in the area. Local shops often stock local items, for example fruit and veg, meat and fish, unlike the equivalents often seen in the supermarkets, and this helps support local businesses further.

Cutting the number of car journeys can also mean fewer emissions and lower fuel costs.

Conor Quinn, spokesman for Lagan Valley Greens said “What we have witnessed over recent years has been Lisburn City Council supporting large scale businesses. This is evidenced by the unequivocal support for the Westfield development at Sprucefield and the expansion of the Tesco store at Bentrim Road. While a small scale farmers’ market in Castle Gardens has been supported by Council in the past it is disappointing to learn that it has removed further support. Such projects must be significantly larger to replicate the success of St George’s Market in Belfast and to offer shoppers a competitive alternative to the large multiples. We need to shorten the supply
chain and to deliver high quality local produce to the consumer. This cannot be achieved by token projects such as the Castle Gardens experiment. We can build on Lisburn’s Tuesday morning market and look at a weekend time and location, such as the Leisureplex, to develop a larger scale sustainable market model that benefits local businesses”.