Gerry Carroll said he was as opposed to 'Theresa May's Tory Brexit' as he was to the prime minister's Remain position in the EU referendum. Picture by Chris Radburn/PA Wire

The People Before Profit MLA who campaigned against EU membership last June plans to fight the general election on an anti-Tory Brexit platform.

Gerry Carroll will contest West Belfast on June 8 and says he will not hesitate to take his seat at Westminster if elected.

In last May's assembly election Mr Carroll topped the poll in the republican heartland with 8,299 first preference votes. However, in last month's snap Stormont election his first preference vote was almost halved.

Many commentators attributed the decline in the People Before Profit representative's vote to his pro-Brexit stance.

But now Mr Carroll has said he will fight the general election on an "anti-Tory Brexit" ticket.

He told The Irish News his party was as opposed to "Theresa May's Tory Brexit" as it was to the prime minister's Remain position in the referendum.

"We remain opposed to the undemocratic nature of the EU and have not changed our position since the referendum but we will not support Theresa May’s vision of a Tory Brexit, nor her dismissal of concerns in devolved regions," he said.

Since the SDLP's Joe Hendron lost the West Belfast seat to Gerry Adams in 1997 the constituency has not been represented at Westminster due to Sinn Féin's abstentionist policy.

Mr Carroll said he and any other People Before Profit MPs would happily sit on Westminster's green benches. The party has yet to decide in which other constituencies it will run candidates.

"If elected we will take our seats, just as Bernadette Devlin did, not to rub elbows with Tory MPs, but to vote against a Tory Brexit," he said.

"We are committed to working with Jeremy Corbyn and other progressives in Westminster to do this – we will be calling for the devolved regions to be given a veto on any deal agreed with the EU to ensure that the north is treated as a special case.

Mr Carroll claimed the proposed pact involving Sinn Féin, the SDLP and the Greens had "little to do with blocking a Tory Brexit".

"How can you have a pact to block a Tory Brexit when half of the pact won’t make the trip to vote against a Tory Brexit in Westminster? It doesn’t make any sense." he said

"What we have is a desperate attempt at a stitch up based on narrow party self-interest."