TOM ELLIOTT has been chosen as leader of the Ulster Unionist Party at a time of considerable economic, political and security tensions in Northern Ireland. The Fermanagh-South Tyrone Assembly Member has only a matter of months to reinvigorate the organisation in preparation for new elections in May; to consider its ministerial appointments to the Executive and to prevent further erosion of its electoral base by the DUP. It is a huge undertaking and Mr Elliott will require flair and ability to succeed.
A right-of-centre politician on social legislation, Mr Elliott is a traditionalist and would co-operate with the DUP in choosing candidates for marginal constituencies, rather than see them fall to nationalists. His dislike of the GAA is so visceral that, when interviewed last week, he could not bring himself to support neighbouring Down, over Cork, in the All-Ireland final. A dedicated member of the Orange Order and the Royal Black Preceptory, he served for 18 years as a member of the UDR and the Royal Irish Regiment.
Whatever about such ingrained attitudes, Mr Elliott has shown stunning organisational ability. His campaign machine, backed up by five busloads of supporters from his rural constituency, simply swamped the challenge put in by Basil McCrea, a media-skilled and reformist candidate from east of the Bann.
Almost half of the 2,000 Unionist Party members entitled to vote attended the largest convention the party has seen in years. And they chose Mr Elliott by a margin of more than two to one. The fact that Mr McCrea had been critical of the party establishment also helped.
Mr Elliott takes over from Reg Empey at one of the lowest points in the party’s 70-year-old history. It has steadily lost ground to the DUP since 1997. Back then, it held ten Westminster seats. Now it has none. It controls 17 seats in the Assembly, compared to 36 for the DUP.
Two Ministers sit on the Executive, as against five, including First Minister Peter Robinson, for the DUP. The question is: can the slide towards oblivion be halted? Sir Reg tried – and failed – to outflank the DUP by appealing to hard-line unionists over the transfer of policing powers. He then forged a pact with the British Conservative Party before the Westminster elections. That also failed to spark the imagination of voters.
Mr Elliott appears to be clearing new ground. His first announcement was to declare the party’s pact with the Conservatives to be dead. Now, with British government spending cuts of more than £2 billion to be announced in Northern Ireland next month, his party’s attitude within the Executive will be crucial.
In recognition of this, Mr Robinson has already appealed to all parties to take a collective approach and to avoid narrow political considerations. It is a big ask for both the UUP and SDLP whose Ministers were treated shabbily within the Executive. How Mr Elliott responds will demonstrate his abilities as tactician and party leader.