DUP Political Cowardice spawns a new brand of DUP Politicians: “The Unresigned”
As divisions within the DUP worsened with news of a former MLA resigning from the Party, the loss of control of a council, rumours of £20,000 fines, post dated resignation letters and six prominent councillors in North Antrim saying they could not support the party’s stance on the St Andrews Agreement, UUP Leader Sir Reg Empey said a new species of DUP politician was being born in Northern Ireland, “the unresigned”.In a statement Sir Reg said,
“The British tradition of elected representation has been turned on its head by the DUP. They don’t want personalities, they want clones or delegates to send to people’s doorsteps, who, at the stroke of the Leader’s pen can be politically obliterated. They have spawned a new breed of politician: “the unresigned”.
This is something most people would associate with a puppet regime in a banana republic rather than the fine British tradition of representation based on free speech and parliamentary democracy. It has been a bad week for the DUP, they have been tongue tied and riven with different positions over two fundamental questions?
What are they asking people to vote for?
Will they share power with Sinn Fein on the 26th March or shortly thereafter?
The people of Northern Ireland are being called out in the middle of winter for a snowman’s election but the very party that demanded this election cannot tell the people what it is they are voting for. This is absurd and political cowardice on the part of the DUP.
The only certainty the people of Northern Ireland have at the moment is the questionable DUP strategy spelled out by Ian Paisley on Thursday that puts a return to devolution firmly and squarely in Sinn Fein’s hands. How on earth did Unionism allow itself to get into this situation? Is this the fair deal that the DUP promised on the doorsteps last time? Unionism can do better than this. People once used to believe that they got truth and clarity from Ian Paisley – now they get an arrogant dismissal of their concerns and smoke and mirrors on his future intentions.”