Tom Griffin (London, OK): Lord Trimble seems to have caused some jitters in the Ulster Unionist Party with his suggestion that the Conservatives will fight every seat in the UK at the next general election. Is he hinting that the talks between the two parties may lead to a full merger?
Not everyone in the UUP would be happy about that prospect, as the lively comments thread over on Three Thousand Versts indicates.
In an interview with the BBC's Mark Devenport, David Cameron has admitted that the talks face some difficulties.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Donaldson of the rival Democratic Unionist Party has claimed that a link-up aimed at defending the union may end up strengthening nationalists.
In the last Westminster election, the arrogance of David Trimble and his coterie of advisors cost Unionism two Westminster seats, now it seems he wants to exert a similar malign influence in the next Westminster election from the comfort of the House of Lords.
People well recall that in 2005, the DUP offered the Ulster Unionists the chance to pick either South Belfast or Fermanagh and South Tyrone to run a single Unionist candidate. The UUP rejected this offer and both seats were lost to Nationalists and Republicans.
Blogger Redemption's Son shares Donaldson's concern about splitting the unionist vote, but it's difficult to see how an electoral pact would square with Cameron's vision of the Conservatives as an anti-sectarian force, particularly in South Belfast, where it would mean allying with the DUP against the moderate nationalist SDLP.
Jeffrey Peel (not verified) said:
Sun, 2008-10-19 10:22The mind-set that the only role for "Unionists" is to keep the other lot out needs to be changed. After all, all the main local political parties have signed up to the Belfast Agreement - so we're all Unionists now. The more important objective to focus on is the normalisation of politics. Consolidation of the Unionist vote is not the objective - rather it's about participation in the government of the Union. None of the local political parties fully participate in Westmister. Sinn Fein MPs don't even take their seats. Most of the more prominent DUP politicians have multiple mandates - therefore do none of their jobs particularly well.
Surely the end-game is to make Northern Ireland an important part of this Kingdom rather a political back-water. Vote splitting is not the issue.
Get real. Vote Conservative.