THE future of NI21 has been thrown further into doubt after its sole councillor quit the party.
Lisburn councillor Johnny McCarthy's resignation is the latest blow to the troubled political venture led by former Ulster Unionist Basil McCrea.
Co-founder and fellow UUP defector John McCallister left NI21 last year, as did former chair and one-time European election candidate Tina McKenzie.
Mr McCarthy was elected to Lisburn and Castlereagh council last year and has the distinction of being the party's only representative to be returned on an NI21 ticket.
Announcing his resignation on Facebook yesterday, he said: "After a long period of consideration I have decided to leave NI21.
"I feel I can work better outside of the party.
"Some people may wonder why I have stayed as long as I did and it is because I fully believed in the idea of NI21 and the need for a party that is non-sectarian and promotes the use of EVIDENCE to create policy and not ideology.
"I do regret having to come to this decision but it is the right thing for me to do."
In a light-hearted sign off, he added: "Now has anyone got the DUP's number?"
NI21 leader Basil McCrea was last night unavailable for comment.
Mr McCarthy's departure is the latest in a series of setbacks for NI21 in its short history.
Founded in the summer of 2013 by Mr McCrea and Mr McCallister with a view to capturing the votes of centre ground unionists, the party was bolstered by the addition of Tina McKenzie, a west Belfast-born businesswoman and daughter of IRA prisoner Harry Fitzsimons.
However, the party imploded a matter of months later, ahead of the 2014 European and local government elections. Both Mr McCallister and Ms McKenzie resigned amid a row over changing of the party's assembly designation from 'unionist' to 'other'.
Stormont's standards commissioner has also probed allegations of inappropriate sexual conduct by McCrea, the findings of which have yet to made public.
