UUP man talks unity with DUP
ULSTER Unionist deputy leader Danny Kennedy has shared a stage with his DUP counterpart and urged the parties to work together.
Addressing an audience at Tullyhappy Orange hall in Co Armagh, Mr Kennedy spoke at length about the need for both parties to work together as DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds, also an Orangeman, looked on.
The DUP has already called for a UUP-DUP pact and, speaking to DUP members and supporters in South Antrim, the party's MEP Diane Dodds said: "The unionist parties need to start to work on a joined up appraoch for the forthcoming assembly election.
"Here in South Antrim the combined unionist vote was equal to more than five assmebly quotas, yet presently the area only has three unionist assembly members because the vote was shredded with too many candidates running."
Mr Kennedy is supporting Tom Elliott's UUP leadership bid and the contest is likely to become a battle over whether the party should align with its long-standing unionist rival as Basil McCrea, thought almost certain to challenge for the leadership, is strongly against such a move.
Mr Kennedy told last night's gathering for the unfurling of a banner: "It is good tonight to see unionists from all unionist parties participating in this event as brethren in their common home of Orangeism."
The MLA said that while he was speaking in a personal capacity, he believed his opinion "represents the broad view of the Ulster Unionist Party".
He went on: "It is my view that we need a dialogue between unionists to more effectively confront and oppose the Sinn Fein agenda and to end the negativity and counter-productive point scoring which has dogged relations between the two main unionist parties - the DUP and UUP.
"It is time for a new politics for unionism."
Mr Kennedy claimed there was a "very real and immediate" threat from Sinn Fein, and appeared to argue that even if unionist unity was only to happen because Sinn Fein "fears" it, that would be a good enough reason for the UUP and DUP to join forces.
"Sinn Fein fears unionists coming together.
"That, as far as they are converned, is the elephant in the room nobody on the nationalist and republican side is talking about publicly.
"That alone is enough reason for unionism to come closer together."
He said there was no question "certainly at this stage of our relationship" of a single unionist party but said if the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats could form a coalition, unionism'a two parties - who he said had more in common - could work together in the executive and the assembly.
"This model - the concept of a coalition of unionist parties - may be a more productive route for us to follow in that it allows the parties to retain their separate, distinct and historical identities while working together for the good of unionism and the Union."
Ulster Unionist leadership contender Tom Elliott, who is close to Mr Kennedy, supported his colleague's call for closer links between the two parties in the executive.
"There has been a willingness to co-operate and claerly the first opennessthat we could see would be if they could start cooperating with our executive members," he said.
"That would be a good opportunity to show good faith and give some support to each other. Unless we see some delivery it will be hard to sell to people."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
