Alliance Party MLA Patricia O'Lynn to quit Stormont

Alliance Party assembly member Patricia O'Lynn has announced that she will resign from Stormont next month.

The 33-year-old will step down on 31 March in order to take up a role with Queen's University Belfast.

She was elected in North Antrim last May but has not participated in a full sitting of the assembly due to the stalemate at Stormont.

Her decision comes two months after assembly members' salaries were cut from £51,500 to about £37,000.

Ms O'Lynn became the first woman and first Alliance Party member to represent the North Antrim constituency in the assembly.

She took her seat by narrowly defeat Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) veteran Mervyn Storey at the sixth stage of the count.

She had previously served as a councillor for Ballymena from May 2019.

Ms O'Lynn said it had "been an honour" to serve her constituency.

"The people of North Antrim proved last May they want to see Alliance's positive message of inclusion and I am confident that will continue," she said.

"I look forward to supporting whoever succeeds me as MLA.

"My only regret is I was not able to do so in the assembly chamber itself due to the ongoing impasse, which has proved frustrating."

This is a big shock given that Patricia O'Lynn is one of Stormont's newcomers.

The Alliance Party insists there are no hard feelings and that her departure from political life is purely down to a new job offer.

The party will have to choose her replacement after her resignation takes effect from April.

It is understood she will remain a member of the party.

The Alliance Party is the third-biggest party in Northern Ireland.

The centre-ground party won 17 seats in last May's election - up from the eight it won in 2017.

However the DUP has blocked the assembly's functioning for over a year in protest against post-Brexit trade arrangements known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.

That led Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to cut assembly members' salaries by more than £14,000 from the start of this year.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said she was sad to see Ms O'Lynn leave the job, describing her as a "fearless and passionate representative".

"It is a huge loss not only to the party and the assembly but especially for the people of North Antrim," she said.

"It is undoubtedly a difficult and uncertain time for many in politics due to the ongoing impasse.

"Patricia will be hugely missed but I am confident Alliance will continue to build on its recent superb results across North Antrim and on the sterling work Patricia has carried out as an advocate for a united community there."

Stormont rules allow the Alliance Party to select a replacement for Ms O'Lynn without the need for a by-election.