IAN PAISLEY jnr has confirmed he will seek the Democratic Unionist Party nomination for the Westminster seat his father has held for the past 40 years.
The Rev Ian Paisley announced yesterday he will not defend the North Antrim seat he first won in the 1970 British general election.
If selected by the DUP, Mr Paisley jnr will almost certainly face Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister who quit the DUP and is a bitter critic of its decision to share power with Sinn Féin at Stormont.
Dr Paisley, who turns 84 next month, retained his seat in 2005 with a majority of 18,000. But the challenge of the TUV leader and the candidacy of an Ulster Unionist/Conservative makes the outcome uncertain.
Dr Paisley won the backing of more than 56 per cent of North Antrim voters in 2005. However, his party share of the vote at the last Assembly poll in 2007 slipped to just over 50 per cent.
At last June’s European election, Mr Allister won 66,000 first preferences throughout the North, about 13 per cent, and polled well in the North Antrim constituency.
Mr Paisley jnr will put his name forward formally on Friday evening when a decision is expected. He was dismissive of the stance taken by Mr Allister on working with republicans in the Stormont institutions.
“We need to be clear about this,” he said last night.
“The TUV offer nothing, they offer neither hard work nor hope to the constituency and they offer a voice of ridicule for unionism and a voice that will bring about Dublin rule. Whether they intend that or not, that is the consequence of voting for them.”
Mr Paisley jnr, an Assembly member for North Antrim, said he was committed to Stormont.
“Our party will be sticking to its principles about governing Northern Ireland and making this place work and work effectively,” he said.
Mr Paisley said he would not try to imitate his father and insisted he would be his own man.
“I am not going to try to fill the shoes of Ian Paisley [snr],” he said. “Those shoes are unique.”
He added: “There are other clones who might want to try, and other pygmies who might want to try to climb into those boots. But that’s not what I’m about and it’s not what my father would expect of his children.
“I think it’s about people recognising that Ian Paisley’s legacy is mammoth and that anyone who comes after him will have to cut their own cloth.”
Dr Paisley announced his decision to retire at the next election to his local paper, the Ballymena Guardian, and defended his decision to go into government alongside Martin McGuinness.
“After a period of tough negotiations it was my view that, provided our conditions were met, the overwhelming majority of the people of Northern Ireland wanted me to do the deal, it was as simple as that,” Dr Paisley said.
“I believe I showed the leadership required to get the best possible deal in the circumstances,” he added.
Dr Paisley is expected to remain an Assembly member until the next elections which are scheduled for next year.