Cara Hunter replaces late John Dallat as SDLP MLA

The party last night said that the deputy mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council, who is also the party’s mental health spokesperson, had been chosen to take Mr Dallat’s place.

Ms Hunter said it was “an immense honour to follow in the footsteps of John Dallat”.

She said: “It is an incredible honour to be selected to represent the people of East Derry and to follow in the footsteps of someone like John Dallat.

“John dedicated his life to public service and I know just how much he loved representing people here. I hope that I can continue that tradition of being a champion for everyone in East Derry.”

Referring to the current crisis, she said it showed “how little the things that divide us actually matter – this virus doesn’t see a difference between people in Coleraine or Kilrea, and neither should we”.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said that the new MLA is “part of the new generation of SDLP activists stepping up to make a difference in their communities” and would be “building on the lifetime of dedicated service John Dallat gave to people here”.