Stop SF first minister, says UUP deputy
THE rules for choosing the first minister must be changed by the government, UUP deputy leader Danny Kennedy has said.
The Newry and Armagh MLA spoke out in support of leadership contender Tom Elliott's call for the Conservative-Liberal coalition to reverse the St Andrews Act changes to the Belfast Agreement rules on choosing the first minister.
The changes open up the possibility of a Sinn Fein first minister and Mr Kennedy, who is supporting Mr Elliott's bid for the leadership, warned that unionist confidence in the Stormont edifice could be undermined if Martin McGuinness or Gerry Adams take the top post.
In Saturday's News Letter Mr Elliott appealed for the DUP to back his attempts to pressure the government on the issue.
However, Peter Robinson's party has yet to say whether it would even support attempts to change the legislation.
Mr Kennedy said he "genuinely believed that Unionist confidence in the political institutions would be seriously undermined and democracy itself further weakened should the distortion of the St Andrews Agreement not be reversed".
Mr Kennedy said that all unionist representatives should be committed to forcing a change in the legislation to "restore the democratic principles established and agreed in the Belfast Agreement, which clearly reflected the demographic trends of Northern Ireland".
Mr Kennedy said the DUP had allowed the changes to be made "on their watch" and therefore had a duty to work with Mr Elliott and the UUP to address the issue.
Mr Kennedy said he believed the prospect of a Sinn Fein first minister would "horrify the unionist population".
He rejected the solution offered by some of creating "a joint office" which would formally make both roles entirely equal. Such a solution, he argued, "would simply continue to ignore the democratic wishes of the people".
Mr Kennedy said he had "every confidence in Tom Elliott to drive this issue forward on behalf of the pro-Union population", but, in an explicit call for support from the DUP, added that "he would need the support of others in this battle, especially those responsible for this debacle".
UUP chief whip Fred Cobain, who is also backing Mr Elliott's leadership bid, has warned that if the government does not reverse the St Andrews changes his party would be entirely justified in abandoning its Conservative alliance and entering a pact with the DUP.
Outgoing UUP leader Sir Reg Empey has stayed out of the leadership contest, saying that he will neither "publicly nor privately" endorse either candidate.
See Alex Kane, page 17
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Monday 13 February 2012
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