DUP appeals over unity are 'empty talk' - Allister
THE DUP is being disingenuous by calling for "unionist unity" while attacking rival unionists, TUV leader Jim Allister has said.
Since new Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliott's election there have been a series of DUP statements demanding that he make clear his commitment to working with the DUP.
And on Saturday, DUP MP David Simpson claimed that his party had never initiated an attack on the UUP.
But Mr Allister said: "While disingenuously posing as champions of unionist unity, they attack Tom Elliott, much as they have TUV, for daring to exist outside the control of the DUP.
"Messrs Dodds, Simpson, Ross, Irwin and others have lined up to shed crocodile tears about wasted unity opportunities. Who do they think they're kidding pretending that for them anything comes before DUP supremacy?
"I was long enough in the DUP to know that vanquishing any alternative voice in unionism is its overriding objective and that empty talk about unity is, for most, a mere means to that end."
The former DUP MEP added: "So after a week when Arlene Foster attacked TUV for daring to exist and a spate of DUP spokesmen have launched an onslaught on the new UUP leader, it is clear for anyone to see that the DUP is on a self-serving party political offensive disguised as a phoney attachment to unionist unity."
When asked for comment on Mr Allister's statement, the DUP released a statement from Ballymena councillor Beth Adger.
She said: "Jim Allister's attempt to resurrect his love-in with the UUP is a blatant attempt to court UUP transfers.
"Whether Tom Elliott will appreciate Jim's rapid defence is unknown. Perhaps Jim's love is unrequited given the UUP's current divisions.
"The unionist community wants unity and cooperation: the TUV opposes both, so this latest rant is entirely predictable."
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Monday 28 May 2012
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