Decision of Alliance Councillor hypocritical on so many levels - Drysdale
Commenting on Alliance’s Michael Long’s reneging on the offer to back him as Deputy Mayor for Castlereagh Borough Council, UUP Councillor David Drysdale said:
“Mr Long’s decision not to back me as Deputy Mayor is hypocritical on so many levels. Not withstanding our agreement, in which he previously assured me his full backing, there’s also the matter of Alliance councillors throughout the province voting for, and in some cases even seconding UUP members for mayoral positions. The Alliance leader himself, David Ford, also had no qualms about electing UUP Adrian Watson of Deputy Mayor in Antrim.
“I would like to ask the Alliance Party two questions – are they being hypocrites or are they being led up the proverbial garden path by a member who is making excuses and taking the party along for the ride? I think that the Alliance Party should clarify their position on this matter, because at the moment, we’re witnessing some pretty ludicrous inconsistencies.
“Mr Long assured me that his decision not to vote for me was not ‘personal’, but if Alliance councillors saw fit to elect a UUP representative in Antrim, Ards, Larne and North Down, why not in Castlereagh Borough Council. It seems to me that this debacle is simply an attempt for Mr Long to raise his profile and gain some cheap political points.
“Furthermore, Mr Long’s comment that he is following the parties ‘conviction that the UUP currently do not deserve our support’, does not hold up, and are clearly not the feelings of Alliance Councillors throughout the province who have been dragged unnecessarily into an argument because of one man’s ego”.