A WEST Belfast man behind a new political party says the first step has been completed after finally registering with the Electoral Commission.
Tony Mallon is the current party leader of NI People – described as "not a typical political party". Tony previously stood in West Belfast as an Independent candidate in the 2024 Westminster elections, receiving 161 votes.
On its website NI People is described as "a common sense, centrist party who ignore orange and green labels who believe in putting people first and stripping back unnecessary government bureaucracy".
The party has a chair, secretary and party leader, with roles being rotated. Tony is the current party leader.
"Politics here has gone either far left or right wing. For me, there is no party in the centre anymore talking common sense. We are working-class and cross-community and want to appeal to people on the centre-right and centre-left.
"We want to take on the Alliance Party. They are tumbling in the polls. People have caught on that they aren't resonating with the working class.
"Politics in the north is polarised and tribal. It is orange versus green. Them parties care more about ideologies than about policies.
"It was tough being an independent. You get lost in the crowd. Having a party gives us more of a fighting chance.
"West Belfast will be a tough nut to crack. They have traditionally voted for socialism which has failed over the last 50 years or so given the rates of poverty."
Tony has been vocal on immigration in the past. He said: "I spoke about three or four years ago when I stood for election for the first time and it has now come to the fore. I am calling out people on the far right who are racist and whatever else. Equally, those on the far left are using immigration for their own populism."
On health and education, Tony added: "We want the right education in schools which educates people on how to prevent ill-health and use natural health cures rather than supporting the big pharmaceutical companies who in my view just want repeat customers.
"I don't think any big pharmaceutical company has cured anyone of anything, and a lot of times they'll give you one drug to counter symptoms, but then that will cause issues with something else and they'll give you another drug to counter that.
"We need more entrepreneurs in schools teaching people how to run successful businesses, instead of just people who have never run a business. There needs to be a focus on teaching more real-life skills."
He added: "After Christmas, we will be going on a recruitment drive to seek members. We have five people at the minute willing to stand for election. The Labour government are trying to bring in a Digital ID. It is a form of control.
"We have a devolved government in name only. We need to have a lot more power here.
"We are so public sector reliant and can't support ourselves. We need to make this place work economically. One policy would be to slash taxes, slash the public sector and bring in massive investment like down South.
"Our economy would be booming and we would have the ability to do our own thing. I don't want to be run by Westminster the same way I don't want to be run by Brussels.
"We need something different. For me, that is a mix of socialism and capitalism. We need to try and break people's mindset away from socialism.
"Getting the party set up was the first step. It took us 15 attempts. Many times it was petty stuff like a spelling mistake or something else. Personally, I think it was a deliberate attempt to mess us around because we are so against the system.
"We want to rip the system apart from the inside and remove as many laws from these politicians as possible and give people back their earnings by slashing taxes."
