General Election 2019: Voters 'will reward NI Greens' for pro-remain pact

Malachai O'Hara defended his party's decision to stand aside in all but three seats in the general election

Voters will reward the NI Greens in future for standing aside in favour of other pro-remain parties in this election, the party's deputy leader has said.

The Green Party is only standing three candidates in the election on Thursday.

It agreed to endorse other pro-remain candidates in some areas to try and unseat DUP MPs at Westminster.

Malachai O'Hara said he believed voters would remember that the Green Party had "done the right thing".

The party is running a very low-key campaign - but it said it had chosen to field candidates in East Antrim, Strangford and West Tyrone because they were areas with environmental issues at stake.

"Those are not a threat to the pro-remain voice," said Mr O'Hara.

Green Party NI leader Clare Bailey spoke at the launch of the SDLP's South Belfast campaign

"Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures, I think people will remember we did the right thing and put Northern Ireland and remaining in the EU ahead of our own party political gain or to put on bar charts at a future election."

In 2017, the Green Party ran seven candidates in the general election.

This time it is not running in any of the Belfast seats, but it is endorsing the SDLP in South Belfast.

The party says its pledges in this campaign build on detail in its 2017 manifesto, and that it is tied into the wider Green New Deal manifesto published at a UK-wide level.

Some of the key pledges include:

• Removing fossil fuels from the economy

• Opposing Brexit

• Promoting human rights and animal welfare

• Introducing free bus travel for young people and students

Mr O'Hara said the Green Party was the only party with the knowledge and commitment to tackling climate change, and its manifesto was aimed at delivering a better future for the next generation.