Elliott to announce leadership bid.

Most eyes will be on Westminster and the emergency budget, but it seems that Tom Elliott MLA is set to make an announcement about his intentions as regards the UUP leadership, this lunchtime.  The Fermanagh South Tyrone Assemblyman will brief the press at 12.45pm today, at Stormont.

Deputy leader, Danny Kennedy, has already ruled himself out of the race, and Elliott is not likely to follow suit.  Whether there will be any clue as to a likely 'dream-team', designed to draw together the two wings of the party, remains to be seen.

There have been rumours that Basil McCrea or Mike Nesbitt could act as Elliott's deputy, if he were to become leader.  It is difficult to see how such an arrangement could work in practice, given the choices that the party faces over its future.