Well, this is a first. The Board of the Conservative Party has suspended me as Vice Chairman of the Northern Ireland Conservatives. This follows my resignation from the Joint Committee set up between the Conservative Party and Ulster Unionist Party, yesterday.
Jonathan Isaby on Conservative Home describes this as a minor hiccup in the process of normalising Northern Ireland’s religion-steeped, sectarian political landscape. However, it’s not as simple as that. The fact is that the Conservatives have adopted the wrong strategy. Instead of putting the resources into contesting every seat in Northern Ireland – now that money is pouring into local Conservative coffers - it has entered into a deal with the down-at-heel Ulster Unionists. The UUP is a Party that will forever be identified as sectionalist and Protestant in the eyes of most voters. Moreover, the Party’s only MP is a New Labour luvvie – the MP for North Down.
It’s slightly ironic that at the Party Conference year before last, I gave a speech to the Conservatives NI function. The event was attended by Tim Montgomerie, Editor of ConservativeHome, the current Shadow Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, and the outgoing Shadow Secretary, David Lidington. In my speech I made clear that the Conservatives’ core objective was to rid the constituency of North Down of Lady Sylvia Hermon as the sitting MP. I received a spontaneous ovation.
After all, if she bothers to attend the Commons – and it’s been 2 years or so since she has spoken in the House – she mostly votes against the Conservatives. She also backs Labour inspired Early Day Motions designed to get right up the noses of the Conservative whips.
How things change. The UUP, however, hasn’t. I gave them the benefit of the doubt – but yesterday that benefit was withdrawn.
Filed under: Discussion | Tagged: Conservatives, Jeffrey Peel, Northern Ireland
