THE Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) has said it will not be running a candidate in the Foyle constituency in the forthcoming General Election on June 8.
UUP leader Robin Swann said he will discuss the decision with DUP leader Arlene Foster on Monday.
The party will also not run candidates in north and west Belfast.
The sitting SDLP MP Mark Durkan will contest his seat again.
But Sinn Fein has yet to announce who will try and take the seat off the SDLP.
At the General Election in 2015, Mr Durkan romped home with a massive majority and also increased his share of the vote.
Sinn Fein’s then candidate Gearoid O’Heara came second but his party’s share of the vote dropped.
Robin Swann was speaking today after a meeting of the party’s ruling executive in Belfast, where MPs Danny Kinahan and Tom Elliott were reselected to stand in Fermanagh South Tyrone and South Antrim.
Mr Swann also said the DUP would be wise to consider a unionist pact to retain Mr Elliott’s seat.
He added that the decision not to field three candidates was made without the influence of other parties.
Mr Swann also said he was unaware of media reports that the party’s former leader, Mike Nesbitt, was being considered as a possible candidate for South Belfast.
On Wednesday, MPs voted to back the British Prime Minister’s call for a snap election in less than two month’s time.
Talks between Stormont’s political parties and the British and Irish governments have so far failed to secure agreement to enable the collapsed institutions to be restored.
Long-running rows over a proposed Irish language act and deep divisions over how to deal with the legacy of the Troubles are holding up a deal.
On Friday, the Secretary of State announced a new deadline of June 29 for politicians in the North to restore a power-sharing executive.
Mr Brokenshire had previously warned there would either be direct rule from Westminster or another election if no agreement was reached by early May.
Tags: