ULSTER UNIONIST Party leadership candidate Tom Elliott has demanded a change in the law in order to prevent Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness being in a position to become first minister after next year’s Assembly elections.
Mr Elliott, launching his campaign to succeed Sir Reg Empey as UUP leader in Antrim yesterday, also ruled out uniting with the DUP to create a single unionist party, and said the link with the British Conservative Party was over. “No more UCUNF [Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force],” he said.
The Fermanagh-South Tyrone Assembly member will contest the leadership on September 22nd when Sir Reg steps down. So far there is only one other candidate, Basil McCrea, an MLA for Lagan Valley.
Under the St Andrews Agreement, the party with the most Assembly seats is entitled to take the first minister post, and Sinn Féin currently is in pole position to be the biggest party after next May’s election.
Mr Elliott said he had made clear to Northern Secretary Owen Paterson the “absolute folly” of this rule. “Initially my leadership will seek to deal with this issue as a matter of urgency and the present government at Westminster knows that it has an obligation to support me,” he added.
He blamed the DUP for changing the rules at St Andrews because it had mistakenly believed it would be to the party’s advantage.
“The DUP’s foolish and reckless actions at St Andrews were specifically designed to blackmail unionist voters into permanently supporting that party to prop them up as the largest Assembly party,” he said.
“Well, it’s obvious this DUP plan was as well thought out as their decision to invite Jim Allister back into a senior party position!
“If Sinn Féin is returned as the largest party to the Assembly next year and we are faced with Martin McGuinness as first minister of Northern Ireland, the blame for that lies squarely with the DUP and no one else,” Mr Elliott said.
He said he had heard DUP calls for unionist unity. “If they mean a single party, my answer is clear and simple. You will not see it under my leadership and I cannot see it in my own lifetime. This would only create polarisation and a further reduction in unionist votes,” he added.