Jim Wells: I have to accept my DUP career has ended in humiliation

Jim Wells, who clocked up 27 years at Stormont, said his career would likely be defined by his staunch opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion.

In a wide-ranging interview with the News Letter following a decision by his party to select the relatively unknown Diane Forsythe as its candidate in Mr Wells’ constituency, the DUP veteran said his vociferous approach to socal issues has likely defined his career as a politician – but admits that it has ultimately come at a cost.

“My demise has been very public, extremely public, but it has to be,” he said of the selection battle that unfolded on Friday.

“That’s a hard pill to take after 46 years [in the DUP] and it’s definitely not the way that I would have wanted it to end .

“Let’s be blunt about it, there’s a degree of humiliation in going this way.”

Asked if his views on social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion had hurt his career, the sitting MLA said: “Yes, there’s no doubt about that. I wouldn’t change it but I think a lot of people don’t agree with me and don’t like me constantly repeating it.”

He also warned his party not to “drift away” from its traditional values.

Asked by the News Letter if his political career would be defined in terms of his position on social issues, he said: “Absolutely and I have no shame, no regret.

“I have stood against what I see as the undermining of what makes society stable. Any opportunity I had to take I did, often at great personal cost. I’ve had to block thousands of people on social media because of the stance I have taken on these issues.

“I think somebody has to stand up and say ‘hold on a minute, not everyone agrees with this’.

“And now we’re moving on to the whole transgender issue, which is causing a lot of problems. If I identify as a woman, can I walk into the woman’s changing rooms? A lot of women are uneasy about that.”

Asked what his options are for the future, Mr Wells was frank about his prospects.

“I have no options,” he said. “I will not, unfortunately, be the DUP candidate for South Down.

“I’ve no plans at the moment to stand as an independent.”

Asked if he would rule out the prospect of running as an independent candidate entirely, Mr Wells said: “At the minute, it’s unlikely. I have to sadly accept that I put my hat in the ring to stand for the DUP and that has not been successful.”

He continued: “I would have liked the opportunity to retire with grace but that has not happened.

“It’s more than 40 years I’ve been involved with the party, 27 years at Stormont, and 17 years as a councillor. I’ve given a fair bit to the party and held virtually every position at Stormont.

“I have been there a very, very long time. In fact, I’d love to know if I’ve been there longer than anybody ever.

“I joined the party in ‘75, and became the chair of the Queen’s branch believe it or not. I was elected to local government in ‘81 as a councillor. It was ‘82 at the Assembly, then ‘98 again at the Assembly 24 years ago. The average run in the Assembly is eight years and I’ve got 27 years, so that’s an indication that it has been a long term one.

“I didn’t want it to end like this. I wanted to sort of bat out gracefully and, let’s be blunt about it, there’s an element of humiliation in going this way.

“But, Enoch Powell said that all political careers end in failure.”

He added: “The sad person that I am, I have counted 70 MLAs in my lifetime whose careers all ended in failure. People like Mark Durkan, Catriona Ruane, Basil McCrea, Jonny Bell, Iris Robinson – it all crashed around their ears.

“That’s the nature of the beast.”

Mr Wells also declined the opportunity to criticise the way his party has handled the apparent end of his tenure as an MLA.

“I think circumstances haven’t treated me well,” he said.

“I think it was an unfortunate set of circumstances that I should have seen coming. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t see this coming. I have to accept that I should have planned things better. I don’t think anyone would have batted an eyelid if I had retired after 27 years at Stormont.”

Mr Wells also reflected on the changes to Northern Ireland since he first got involved in politics. He said: “I remember every day of the Troubles. I remember the Troubles starting right up until now. There’s no doubt that Northern Ireland is in a much better place now than it was in the ‘60s or the ‘70s. There’s no question about that. Northern Ireland is a place of community, there’s a lack of violence and economically it’s in a much better place.”

On the changes to his party in that time, he said: “The DUP has, I think to some extent, changed its values in line with the public’s change. When I started out the DUP was very much a party of right-wing fundamentalists, mostly from the Free [Presbyterian] Church. I was never Free Church, I’m actually Baptist. But we all had a very similar outlook on life.

“Obviously as the years have gone by we have broadened out and we have absorbed a significant number of Ulster Unionists who are now quite high level in the party. The party has broadened its appeal and, maybe in my opinion, broadened its appeal to much.”

He added: “The party is very different from the one that I joined.”