BRITAIN'S Conservative government appears confident it can defeat a Labour Party attempt to force a "confidence" vote next week, with the early indications that the Ulster Unionists will resist the Labour move - on the back of a motion on the BSE issue - to force an early general election.
Labour raised the pre election stakes last night after the Shadow Cabinet agreed to table a censure motion against the Agriculture Minister, Mr Douglas Hogg, over his handling of the BSE crisis. As Labours Chief Whip Donald Dewar tried to mobilise the combined strength of the Opposition parties, sources in the Labour Party indicated that a government defeat on Monday could lead directly on to a no confidence debate.
It seems, however, that Labour whips made their move without consulting the Ulster Unionists, who have reacted angrily to the plan. Mr Ken Maginnis MP told The Irish Times this morning that Labour's business managers had shown "a total misjudgment of the temper of Ulster unionism and our determination that we will not be lobby fodder for either of the major parties".
Mr Maginnis said the UUP had shown a willingness to deal with each issue on its merits, but that "to be invited to participate in some form of electioneering will, I imagine, be too much for any Ulster Unionist to stomach."
He continued: "Like any serious political party, we will be looking at the possibility of a close result at the election, and we're not about to give any party the impression that we can be persuaded to act in a capricious manner."
The Labour leadership last night therefore appeared to have embarked on a high risk strategy which could yet result in a morale boosting win for the government.
Mr Maginnis's comments will reinforce the belief that a majority, at least, of the nine Ulster Unionists are keen to sustain Mr Major if he wishes to postpone the election until May 1st. At Westminster last night, government sources confirmed their readiness - as reported in yesterday's Irish Times - to grant unionist demands for an enlarged role for the Northern Ireland Grand Committee of the House of Commons.