The battle for Strangford
ONE of the most closely-fought Westminster struggles will be in the seat Iris Robinson was forced to vacate
The Westminster seat of Strangford, which straddles the Lough that gives it its name, was strongly Ulster Unionist in the 1990s.
Yet by this century, the DUP were able to claim the Co Down constituency as among their safest seats.
Numerous former Ulster Unionist constituencies have ended up in the DUP's possession, but few experienced a swing as great as Strangford.
Some, such as East Antrim, were not safe Ulster Unionist areas to begin with, while others — South Antrim for example — never became solidly DUP.
Strangford, which had had a comfortable Ulster Unionist majority since it was created in 1983, fell narrowly to the DUP in 2001 but by 2005 was heavily so, when Iris Robinson won the largest percentage share of the vote of the nine DUP MPs.
Much of that success was due to Mrs Robinson herself, who reached a level of popularity in the area that made her downfall at the beginning of this year seem all the more dramatic.
Mrs Robinson's departure throws everything into play, and ensures Strangford will be one of the most keenly watched contests of the General Election in Northern Ireland.
The profile of the contest was raised further when Mike Nesbitt was chosen first as the UUP candidate, then adopted as the joint UUP-Tory nominee.
The former UTV anchorman is known across the Province, but is vulnerable to charges that he has been parachuted in as a celebrity.
His DUP opponent Jim Shannon is little known outside Strangford, but long established within it.
Mr Nesbitt's rivals are not tiptoeing round his popularity, and he has already become embroiled in a row — being accused of condescending Mr Shannon in a reference to the DUP man's skill at sorting out issues such as "potholes in Portaferry" (see story on page 22).
But Mr Nesbitt, 52, seems to accept that he cannot coast along on his profile, and there was a hint of apology to his acceptance of the nomination. He spoke of his awareness that some UUP members who had been knocking doors and dropping leaflets for years might not be thrilled about his sudden arrival.
Talking to the News Letter from under the shadow of Scrabo Tower, he says that people like to put a label on others — in this instance, that he is a TV personality.
The same happened, he says, in 1986 when he moved within the BBC from being a sports reporter to covering news.
"When I moved across to current affairs my colleagues were cynical because they had me pigeon-holed as a sports guy," he recalls.
A political career has been in the back of his mind for "maybe 10, 20, 30 years", he says.
"If you interview politicians for as long as I have, you probably feel at some point that you should put your money where your mouth is.
"If you are criticising them — the best critic says here's how you do it better."
But it was his two years in the Victims Commission that gave him his "real taste for public service".
This, he says, has given him the ability both to argue strategy with decision makers, and to have a cup of tea with ordinary people and listen to their story.
He says he was “born into Ulster Unionism in that it was a leafy suburban east Belfast where that was the tradition”.
But how long has he been a member?
“Two weeks,” he says, laughing as he looks at his membership card to check.
Then, more seriously, he adds: “We have got to look not only at what people have done, but what they are going to do.”
Jim Shannon is keen to emphasise what he has done. He rests his main claim to the seat on his record of 25 years as an elected politician in the area.
“It is a choice of experience over novelty,” he says.
The former part-time UDR man joined Ards council in 1985, representing the Ards peninsula, where his family has a farm.
The 54-year-old father-of-three says: “I have always wanted to serve people and be involved in bread and butter issues.”
Strangford has a small overall Catholic population, at 13 per cent of the total, making it the third most heavily Protestant constituency in Northern Ireland (East Belfast is first, and North Down second).
Much of that Catholic population lives on the peninsula, like Mr Shannon.
“As far as I am concerned, the peninsula is an area I can represent for everyone,” he says.
Mr Shannon claims that tallies from the last council election showed that many voters who supported him first preference then transferred to nationalist candidates.
Continued on page 22
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Tuesday 29 May 2012
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