North Down Orangemen call for rival unionist parties to drop their own candidates and agree on a single contender in bid to oust Stephen Farry as MP

The news is contained in the most recent edition of the Orange Standard, the official organ is the institution, which was published this week.

The current Parliament will automatically dissolve on December 17, 2024, with an election to held sometime before the end of January 2025.

During the last General Election, the DUP took 37.9% of the vote in the constituency, the UUP took 12.1%, and the Tories took 4.8%.

But out in front with a clear lead was the Alliance Party, which won 45.2% of the vote, putting Dr Stephen Farry into the seat – the first time a non-unionist had held it since the current incarnation of the seat came into being in 1997.

The results of last year’s Assembly election also skewed towards the Alliance Party; it took two seats and 28.9% of the popular vote, whilst independent unionist Alex Easton (who had quit the DUP after the coup against Arlene Foster in 2021) taking 22.9% and winning a seat.

By comparison, the UUP took 19.9% of the vote (and won a single seat) and the UUP took 12.4% (also winning a single seat), with the TUV polling at 3.8%.

On Friday, September 15, Bangor District Orange Order passed a motion which read: “Bangor District Orange Lodge calls on all Unionist parties present in North Down to agree a single Unionist candidate to run for the forthcoming Westminster election and further calls on all Districts and Lodges across the North Down constituency to promote and help Unionism win back North down to help protect the Union.”

The Orange Standard went on to note: “North Down had for many years been a secure unionist seat. In recent times Lady Sylvia Hermon held the seat – first as an Ulster Unionist and then as an Independent Unionist.”

Alex Easton was among a number of people who left the DUP after the 2021 leadership ructions, including Alderman McCready, a councillor who joined the UUP.

Soon after he told the News Letter a united unionist party is “inevitable in the future”.