Maybe I’m missing something here.
After a romantic getaway at Hatfield House , which saw the DUP and UUP make ‘come to bed eyes’ at the soon-to-be Secretary of State Owen Paterson (or was it the other way round?), the Conservatives have come out on the defensive… but I’m a bit confused.
After West Belfast Catholic Conservative former Top Gear producer action-man Peter McCann along with Deirdre Nelson and Sheila Davidson resigned in disgust at the possible unity pact, a Conservative source told Henry McDonald:
“We remain absolutely committed to putting up 18 Conservative and Unionists candidates at the next general election to offer the people of Northern Ireland national, non-sectarian normal politics.”
But this statement, especially the ‘non-sectarian normal politics’ part jars slightly when read with:
One source told the Observer that McCann and others had “wanted to vomit” when they were given details of talks between Paterson and senior Ulster Unionists and Democratic Unionists in south-west England last weekend. A subsequent meeting between Paterson and three potential Tory candidates, including McCann, PR expert Sheila Davidson and Deirdre Nelson, failed to quell their anger about the Conservatives’ talks with the two main unionist parties.
And the reason for the pact?
Officially the Conservatives insist that the discussions were merely convened to try and help the two unionist parties stabilise the assembly and prevent it from falling.
But in the event of an Assembly election…
If Sinn Féin came out as No 1 it would give them the right to nominate Martin McGuinness as first minister; no unionist would serve under him for fear of electoral annihilation in the near future.
To get around this scenario, a senior UUP strategist told the Guardian that they would create a united unionist bloc. This unionist unity force would have to be constituted before any assembly election as a coherent, singular entity, which the strategist hoped would gain enough votes to ensure unionism retained the position of first minister
So, reading the first part again… I’m confused.
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