Expelled member of Alliance Party drops discrimination claim but pursues 'unlawful' allegations around his removal
An expelled member of the Alliance Party has abandoned a claim for discrimination over his failure to be picked as an election candidate, he revealed today.
Geoffrey Wilson said his court action will instead now focus on allegations that the circumstances surrounding his removal were unlawful.
The 54-year-old legal consultant is seeking £20,000 in damages for alleged breach of contract.
Mr Wilson, from the Dunmurry area of Belfast, was a member of Alliance for nine years.
He claims that he was wrongly suspended and then expelled in December 2021 following events at a meeting to select candidates for the Lagan Valley constituency.
By that stage he had repeatedly failed to secure approval to stand in elections.
Between 2017 and 2021 he unsuccessfully applied for nominations to contest local council, Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster polls.
Attempts to seek a judicial review into his removal and to have the case heard by the Fair Employment Tribunal sitting in Belfast have already failed.
Mr Wilson previously alleged discrimination because of his age and issues around pro-abortion and transgender rights.
The tribunal refused jurisdiction, however, on the grounds that he was never an employee of the party.
In 2024 the Court of Appeal dismissed his challenge to that decision after finding no evidential basis for contentions that it involved apparent bias and breached European Union law.
Mr Wilson then launched a separate civil claim against Alliance, alleging both discrimination and a violation of its constitution in how he was expelled.
He lodged a claim for £20,000 damages to cover breach of contract over allegations the party broke its own rules.
Representing himself in the proceedings, Mr Wilson intends to seek an order for Alliance to readmit him as a member if he ultimately wins the case.
Alliance is strongly defending the action, having already argued it should be struck out based on the Court of Appeal determination and that he failed to properly reply to questions raised as part of its defence.
At Belfast County Court today Mr Wilson was directed to make amendments to his claim before a full hearing expected to take place later in the year.
Speaking later, he confirmed: “l am abandoning my claims for discrimination regarding my failure to be selected as an election candidate over the last few years.
“Instead, l will be focusing on seeking a declaration from the court that my expulsion from the Alliance Party is unlawful, and damages for breach of contract regarding that.”