A meeting of Causeway Coast and Glens Council collapsed last week when unionist councillors walked out, preventing a vote on a change to the dual language street signs policy.

The council currently requires at least one-third of householders on a street to request signs in a language other than English, followed by approval from two-thirds of residents. No dual language signs have been erected since the council was formed 11 years ago.

Sinn Fein sought to lower the threshold, proposing a system similar to Belfast’s where 15% support can trigger erection of signs. A vote in May retained the existing two-thirds rule, but Sinn Fein used a call-in procedure to force a re-vote.

That re-vote was scheduled during a meeting when several unionist councillors were in France as part of a council delegation to the Somme commemorations. Unionists argued the timing deliberately weakened their voting bloc.

To avoid a vote they said would not reflect the electorate’s will, unionist members left the chamber. Their absence caused the meeting to fall below quorum and it was abandoned.

TUV councillor Allister Kyle accused Sinn Fein of exploiting the situation. He said the re-vote was timed to coincide with the unionist councillors’ attendance at the Thiepval memorial events and that the walkout represented unionist unity against what he described as an attempt to frustrate a democratic decision.