 He stood unsuccessfully in North Down at the 2003 Assembly election.He also stood in the Holywood ward for the local elections in 2005 and narrowly missed being elected by 60 votes.He was a prime mover behind the creation of an all-island Green Party, officially launched in December 2006 in advance of the 2007 NI Assembly elections, which saw the Greens get their first Assembly seat in North Down with Brian Wilson.