AN Alliance councillor who replaced Naomi Long on Belfast City Council has herself stepped down.
Laura McNamee, a representative for the Ormiston area of east Belfast since August 2010, said the decision is due to a desire to pursue a teaching career in England.
Sian O’Neill, up until recently a constituency caseworker for former MP Ms Long, has been chosen to replace Ms McNamee.
It comes just a year after she had won re-election to Belfast City Council.
At the time of her co-option in 2010, Ms McNamee - also a former caseworker for Ms Long - became the youngest member of Belfast City Council at the age of 25.
Ms O'Neill, originally from Crumlin and chair of the South Antrim branch of the party, unsuccessfully stood for Alliance in last year’s election to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, receiving 185 first preference votes in the Antrim town ward.
A former youth worker and pupil at Rathmore Grammar in Belfast, she currently works at Community Foundation NI.
She said she was "honoured" to be co-opted and would "continue the excellent standard set by Laura".
Ms McNamee said: "It was a very difficult decision for me to make, especially given the amount of support I had received, both from the local association and various community organisations I had had the privilege to work with whilst serving on council."
In December 2012 Ms McNamee was forced to leave her home after a threat was made to her via Facebook in the wake of the row over the flying of the Union flag over Belfast City Hall.
