Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness

Something of a 'Three Thousand Versts' exclusive I believe. It is my understanding that last night's UUP executive meeting may have thrown open the possibility of the three 'withdrawn' Conservative hopefuls re-entering the race for Westminster. Peter McCann, Sheila Davidson and Deirdre Nelson offered their resignations after 'unionist unity' talks came to light, but their respective Conservative associations have not accepted them. Officially the triumvirate are still Conservative nominees, due to be considered by the Joint Committee of Tories and Ulster Unionists as UCUNF candidates. I spoke to McCann yesterday afternoon and he made it clear that the UUP has now dealt, to his satisfaction, with two of the main objections which led to his withdrawal. There are, he intimated, still matters to be resolved, but the Ulster Unionists' commitment to a definite time-frame for selection, and the executive's repudiation of 'bogus' unity talks, are ...

Ian Paisley Junior clearly isn't on his hols yet (or at least the DUP press office is still at work). Christmas Eve morning witnessed a press release on the party's current most pressing preoccupation - its rival's internal candidate selection procedure. The website only features a truncated version, but its is the unabridged text which provides the authentic Junior pyrotechnics (ho hum!). The Labour tendencies of leading members of South Belfast UUP are well-known. Does this explain the Tory insistence on imposing a blow-in upon the local UUP Association? The Tories are now insisting that all who refuse to subscribe to their views must be purged from consideration as UUP candidates, as has been demonstrated by the Tory intolerance towards the UUP’s solitary MP. The UUP is being hollowed out at the behest of a party who when they last contested an election in South Belfast got 108 votes. Experienced veterans are being pushed aside in favour of a bunch of Notting Hill lib...