Ford says there must be no gerrymandering on council plan

Following reports that Minister Edwin Poots has warned that local government reform could collapse if boundaries cannot be agreed, Alliance Leader David Ford has said that the integrity of the boundary process must remain.

David Ford said: “On Monday, I asked the Minister to provide a commitment that there would be no form of gerrymandering on council boundaries and I still have real concerns.

“The reports regarding Edwin Poots’ letter calls into question the integrity of the whole boundary process.

“The whole point of having an impartial Boundary Commissioner is to give the process full credibility and ensure buy-in from all sides. This letter is a very worrying development in this long-running saga.”

ENDS