'There is a 99.9% chance that Reform will refuse to fight elections in Northern Ireland' says DUP MP
It is all-but certain that Reform will not put up candidates in Northern Ireland, a DUP MP has said.
It follows Reform surging to the top of the poll in last week’s English and Welsh elections, and gaining a foothold in Scotland as well – leaving the Labour government deeply demoralised.
Former UUP leader Sir Reg Empey had told the News Letter he believes Nigel Farage’s party will now set its sights on standing in Northern Ireland too so that it can claim to be the only true UK-wide party (though he also warned this might split the unionist vote).
Sammy Wilson disagrees.
He says the chances of that happening are “none whatsoever”, adding: “I’d be 99.9% certain of that.”
"Their target is to put all of the resources into the places where they know they can get big gains, and that's England and Wales,” he said, whereas in Northern Ireland they are simply not going to win a seat.
However, an added disincentive to standing in the Province is that there is an “absolute guarantee” they would splinter the unionist vote and jeopardise unionist seats in favour of the SDLP, Sinn Fein and Alliance.
Come the next election, Reform are “probably not going to have a big, clear-cut majority, so they're going to have to look for allies,” and that the existing unionist parties are “the most likely allies that they're going to get”.
“So why would the jeopardise unionist seats for seats they can’t win, and put in people to Westminster whom they know are going to be hostile to them?” he concluded.
"It’s no secret we’re as close to Reform as anybody could be.
"So they’re able to claim they do have surrogates or whatever in Northern Ireland and make a virtue out of it.”