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SDLP man getting Mike Nesbitt vote is outspoken critic of UUP leader

The SDLP's Séamas de Faoite has previously criticised UUP leader Mike Nesbitt on Twitter
The SDLP's Séamas de Faoite has previously criticised UUP leader Mike Nesbitt on Twitter The SDLP's Séamas de Faoite has previously criticised UUP leader Mike Nesbitt on Twitter

THE SDLP man who Mike Nesbitt intends to give his second-preference vote next month is an outspoken critic of the Ulster Unionist leader on Twitter.

Séamas de Faoite last year claimed Mr Nesbitt "sees opposition as a game" and appeared unwilling to work with other parties – saying it's "all just about him and the UUP".

Rubbishing the former journalist's EU referendum efforts, he tweeted: "Mike Nesbitt talks about a decade of uncertainty for NI following Brexit. Where was he during the campaign? MIA – Mike Incapable of Action."

And responding to another Twitter user amid a political row in 2015 that saw Peter Robinson step aside as first minister, Mr de Faoite wrote: "It's all written down in Mike Nesbitt's evil plans book."

Mr Nesbitt sparked controversy within his own party after saying he intends to give the SDLP his second-preference vote in the assembly election.

The UUP leader is a candidate in Strangford but lives in the East Belfast constituency, where Mr de Faoite is running for the SDLP.

Speaking yesterday, Mr de Faoite welcomed the Ulster Unionist leader's support on March 2.

However, he refused to commit to returning the favour by giving the Ulster Unionist in his own constituency of South Belfast his third preference behind the two SDLP candidates.

"I think very clearly there is an impetus for change in this election and people are considering what way their transfers go in order to get a new government," he said.

"So I don't think it's surprising that people are thinking of transferring to parties that they didn't in the past."

On his own voting choice, he said: "I haven't decided yet. But there's a number of different potential options there and I think that's what people have to consider.

"They have to look at where their transfers go and what that will mean."

Defending his Twitter comments in the past about Mr Nesbitt, Mr de Faoite said: "I think we are two different political parties where difference doesn't have to mean division.

"We have a willingness to work together – I have a very good relationship with a lot of people within the Ulster Unionist Party."

He added: "You can disagree with people in politics. I may have disagreed with Mike in the past – I probably will in the future – but that doesn't mean you can't work with them."

Mr de Faoite is a 25-year-old law student at Ulster University who has been involved in the SDLP for almost a decade.

He helped launch an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) group within the party and last year travelled to the US to support Hillary Clinton's presidential election campaign.

"We need to start seeing politics as coalition-building, otherwise it will stay as orange versus green," he said.