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Sunday 21 March 2010

Principle, hypocrisy or plain selfishness?

Lord Trimble has re-emerged to rule out Unionist Unity candidates. Which begs the question, who exactly is setting the UUP's policy present leader Sir Reg Empey or past leader Lord Trimble?

He repeats the dubious claim of such pacts having a "sectarian nature". Perhaps it has escaped his memory that he endorsed such an approach while he was leader. In 1997 he was for Unionist Unity to ensure West Tyrone, Fermanagh and South Tyrone and North Belfast were held by Unionists working together. So his condemnation now is either hypocritical or false. Perhaps it is more motivated by selfishness - any new pact would see the benefits shared equally between the parties or neither with agreed unity candidates as opposed to the lion share the UUP got under the past arrangement?

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