Alliance prefer Hermon to Parsley?

Jeff Peel doesn't reveal any sources, but on his (Public) Diary blog he suggests that the Alliance Party is set to 'support' Sylvia Hermon 'rather than' Ian Parsley in the North Down race for Westminster.

How this support would manifest itself is not made clear. Conservatives and Unionists have not selected a candidate for North Down, but the former Alliance man, Parsley, has been nominated and it is thought that the Conservative party is unlikely to countenance an endorsement of the current Ulster Unionist MP.

Is Alliance set to intervene in another party's selection process or is it prepared not to stand in North Down, should Sylvia Hermon decide to contest the seat as an independent? Perhaps, within the party, there is simply a preference for a figure considered to be left liberal, rather than a recent defector?

After all, whether or not, as Jeff contends, Alliance voters are intrinsically sympathetic to the Conservatives, its leadership are a rather different case.

An intriguing, but rather confusing, piece of gossip.

Comments

Timothy Belmont said…
North Down historically has had a few independents; though I'd like to think that she's finished. Her time is almost up.

Whilst she is certainly a Unionist, she is no conservative.

Tim
21 November 2009 at 18:32
Anonymous said…
I think Jeff's view of Alliance supporters as closet Conservatives is a bit misplaced, to be honest. Parsley seems the exception, rather than the rule, as Jeff seems to believe.

Gonzo
21 November 2009 at 21:31
Comrade Stalin said…
I left a wee note on Jeff's blog. I think it's hilarious that the Tories have the arrogance to believe, after poaching the candidate we built up and promoted and using it as part of a major publicity drive, that we're now supposed to bow down and rally around their candidate. I can't believe how anyone would be so naive.

The UUP are so clumsy at the moment that it's difficult to see what they are really trying to achieve, but from where I stand it looks like a wrecker's agenda, and it certainly isn't about implementing the kind of shared future Ian used to support in Alliance. Therefore there can be no possibility of Alliance standing aside for UUP/Tory candidates. And if Ian or Jeff really think thought that we would, they're a lot further behind than I thought.
22 November 2009 at 14:04
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