ULSTER UNIONIST Party leader Tom Elliott has demanded that the Conservative Party close its Northern Ireland branch as the price for an electoral alliance between the parties.
The two parties’ electoral alliance in the May general election – the Ulster Conservative Unionist New Force – was a total failure.
Speaking during a meeting in the House of Commons last night, Mr Elliott said he did not believe that there would be any difficulty in co-operation between the parties’ leaderships.
However, the Northern Ireland Conservatives are “very detrimental to the relationship that we can build”, he told a meeting of the Friends of the Union. Instead of running its own candidates in the North, the Conservatives should stand aside and let the Ulster Unionists have a clear run, he said. The UUP believes it could win 24 seats in next year’s Assembly elections if the Conservatives do not field candidates, but this number could fall by two if they do.
The Northern Ireland Conservatives have no chance of winning seats, but their presence could see the UUP losing a ministerial place in the Executive, perhaps to Sinn Féin, said Mr Elliott.
The Conservatives must also honour a promise to stop Sinn Féin collecting House of Commons expenses when they do not take their seats, he added.