Eighteen candidates - no discussion!
Tom Elliott MLA has appeared on Hearts and Minds attempting to fudge the issue of agreed candidates. He also claims to be 'relatively' supportive of the Conservative and Unionist pact. O'Neill has previously pointed out that the Fermanagh man appears to have a shaky understanding of what UCUNF actually involves. We know that it entails eighteen candidates and yet UUP representatives still remain coy about declaring unequivocally that eighteen candidates will stand.
Comments
This has lead to rumour and gossip being allowed to run riot around the constituencies and coupled with the delays have lost seats to the pact as there is little time left to mount any type of campaign for new candidates.
Fiddling at the top while seats are slipping away would lead one to wonder if it is not a subconscious choice to make the pact inoperable. If so the decline of our party will continue.
After Tom's written disaster in the Fermanagh local paper, it was a cast-iron that he'd be approached for this kind of programme. And on he duly went digging the hole deeper. Again the question, was it a unilateral decision or was it something agreed higher up?
It was agreed higher up. He was accompanied to the Beeb by a UUP Press Officer.