'Resign your seat'
The DUP has challenged Jim Allister to an electoral showdown, to test support for the the "new" unionist movement.
Deputy leader Peter Robinson last night called on the MEP to quit his European parliamentary seat and trigger a by-election head-to-head.
Hardliners challenging the DUP decision to share power with Sinn Fein have claimed "a groundswell of support in their favour", said the MP, during a speech in Fermanagh.
"Surely if Jim Allister really believed that he would be resigning his seat and seeking a mandate for his 'flat-Earth' policies."
But Mr Allister told the News Letter he would not be stepping down.
"I have not changed my policy on power-sharing with Sinn Fein since I was elected, I have remained true to my mandate and my mandate still stands until the next European election in 2009," he commented.
He added: "I do not remember Peter Robinson calling for Jeffrey Donaldson, Arlene Foster, Peter Weir or Norah Beare to resign their seats and fight by-elections when they left the UUP and joined the DUP.
"Indeed I seem to remember Peter noted, at the time I left the DUP, that it would be hypocritical for him to call for me to resign."
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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