LONG-STANDING SDLP councillor in Derry has quit the party.
Sean Carr, from the Bogside, said he had no option but to resign in protest at the way the party had treated him and his family.
Last year his son Jimmy - also a Derry councillor - quit the SDLP after a newspaper carried details of alleged posts on a 'swingers' website. Earlier this year the SDLP in Derry suspended the party whip from Sean Carr and refused to nominate him to committee positions on the new Derry City and Strabane council.
Mr Carr's resignation means the SDLP now has no representation in Derry's Moor electoral area, once a party heartland. It also reduces its numbers on the super council to nine while increasing the independents to five.
An SDLP spokesman said the party withdrew the whip because Mr Carr failed to attend group meetings or adhere to group decisions.
Mr Carr, a councillor for 14 years, said: "I have been waiting for this situation to be sorted out for 11 months. I am resigning over the way the SDLP in Derry has treated me and my family."