It was pedal power all the way for the newly appointed MLA for South Belfast Conall McDevitt.

He chose to go green for his first day as an Assembly member on Monday and travelled to Stormont by bike.

On arrival the politician had no hesitation in setting out his plans for the future.

“The gap between people in our community and their public representatives is growing wider by the day,” said Mr McDevitt.

“Our Executive has become dominated by old politics and aging warriors who seem unable to negotiate in the common interest.

“All around Sinn Fein and the DUP are working families struggling to make ends meet.”

The politician said parents were suffering “real stress” because of a lack of consensus on the primary school transfer procedure, with different schools choosing different selection criteria.

Mr Devitt continued by saying that as both a parent and an MLA he would not rest until he “proved that the Assembly cares about our children”.

“The time has come to produce an alternative and stand for something more then simply being against the 11 plus,” he said.

Turning to the work front, the MLA spoke of the thousands of job losses in recent times and the number of companies forced to close.

“My generation never had the chance of a job for life and many of us have started our own businesses,” he said.

“We need MLAs who know this and are willing to support inward investments and business start ups in a real way, harnessing the talent and the energy of this region.”

Mr McDevitt then outlined his political aspirations about what he hoped would happen to shape the future.

“It is time to start building a new politics which puts the North first — a politics which is built on progressive nationalism and unionism working together, not a return to the old pacts of the seventies and eighties,” he stated.

“I will work with any colleague who is interested in fulfiling the promise of the Good Friday Agreement.

“I know that is what people want to see and what this region needs.”