Lady Hermon’s “difficult place”
The passing of the UUP’s deadline for nominations was accompanied by a statement from the party confirming that, despite efforts to find a compromise, the independently minded North Down MP, Lady Sylvia Hermon, would not be seeking the party’s nomination as a general election candidate. As Turgon noted, there has also been confirmation of 9 agreed UCUNF candidates. For North Down, there are now two UUP names in the frame and the Conservative Party’s Ian Parsley has been waiting patiently for some time for that part of the process to be completed. Meanwhile, the BBC reports that Lady Hermon is taking time to consider her options
Lady Hermon said she has been inundated with messages of support ever since it became clear she would not be standing under the Conservative and Unionist banner. However, she would not comment on whether or not she would run as an independent candidate and would only say that recent events have caused her sadness and put her in a difficult place.
Just a thought, but could one way out of that “difficult place” involve the Lady becoming a Baroness? As I say, just a thought…
I think you might have the answer.
I think turning up and contributing in The Commons is the difficult thing for Lady Hermon.
she would fit right into the lords then,
the problem is who would nominate her? the outgoing or the incoming government?
“Inundated with messages of support” – sounds more like Jim Kilfedder every day, and he was invincible.
All that is needed now is the resuurection of the Ulster Popular Unionist Party (membership 1).
Even in the cynical world of Norn Iron politics this seems overly cynical.
Could the Lady became a Lady in her own right? Rather than as an honorific to her late husband.
Well of course she wants to stand as UUP without being a Tory. We might even say she doesnt have the sectarian baggage required of the “new” Party.
Would she accept the blandishment of a bauble to stand aside for a person nominated by Empty?
Are peerages so devalued that the Cameron would nominate her post-election for the House of Lords.
Surely even if she fought the election and was beaten Gordon Brown would be nominating her in his Resignation honours.
Still as an act of cynicism it would be right up there with a politician standing for the Alliance Party in the European elections in June 2009 and becoming a Conservative in September.
Luckily North Down doesnt have politicians who are that cynical………..and if it did (which of course it doesnt) then Empty would be the last man to reward such cynicism. And the voters arent so stupid to vote for a politician like that.
And nobody on Slugger O’Toole would even dream of endorsing such a person.
Lady Hermon could start a Radical Pirate Party of the Erotic Left of Centre with Rita Verdonk [Trots op Nederland ]…… to really confuse and discombobulate the Boys and Suits.
All One Needs is Internet Controls for Anything and Everything for Everyone.
Lady Hermon cannot be bought. If she decides not to stand she will be letting down the thousands of voters waiting to give her a resounding victory. I would be very surprised if she betrays her supporters.
” letting down the thousands of voters waiting to give her a resounding victory”
…not to mention the 10,000s more you will extract massive enjoyment from watching the ridiculous project which is UCUNF sinking in a mire of public recrimination and embarassment.
And it might just encourage David Cameron to engage his brain properly before he ensorses some other ill thought out policy which may have far more serious consequences than him being shown up as naive about Ulster.
‘I would be very surprised if she betrays her supporters.’ – she has seemingly turned her back on a number of them in the UUP.
Paul Clark tweeted that Eddie McGrady is standing down before the next election. That should make things interesting.
It certainly does.
Does it mean Margaret Ritchie will run……presumably giving up her Stormont role.
Or does it mean that Alban Magennis or Alex Attwood gets a chance?
No doubt all will emerge in next hour or so.
It is a real mystery to me that Lady H has become a ‘darling’ or cult figure (as in a differnt way has awn Purvis) and concluded that it is something to do with their gender – their novelty value as they are vifrtuallyh absent from the leadership of most parties. Although I remind myself that Lady H differs from Dawn Purvis in that she was the chosen one by David Trimble – not because of anything she had done but because he knew her from QUB and she happenedd to be the ex Chief Constable’s wife.
granni trixie,
Excellent point.
I am rather fond of Sylvia, but people who knew her at Queens as Sylvia Paisley (honestly!) tell me that there was nothing in her earlier behaviour to indicate she would be anything other than a very traditional unionist.
Dawn Purvis……yes I find her rather over -rated and in part there is a kinda latent patronising attitude about women politicians.
I blame the Womens Coalition..and the likes of several QUB “civic society” types for encouraging them.
Wont name them….as I wont incur their wrath. The usual suspects. Anybody who wants to name them, go right ahead.
Why would anyone in North Down vote for her, look at her Westminster record it is dreadfull!
Has spoken in 2 debates in the last year — well below average amongst MPs.
Has voted in 27% of votes in parliament with this affiliation — well below average amongst MPs.
Why would anyone in North Down vote for her, look at her Westminster record it is dreadfull!
Has spoken in 2 debates in the last year — well below average amongst MPs.
Has voted in 27% of votes in parliament with this affiliation — well below average amongst MPs.
Why would anyone in North Down vote for her, look at her Westminster record it is dreadfull!
Has spoken in 2 debates in the last year — well below average amongst MPs.
Has voted in 27% of votes in parliament with this affiliation — well below average amongst MPs.
Why would anyone in North Down vote for her, look at her Westminster record it is dreadfull!
Has spoken in 2 debates in the last year — well below average amongst MPs.
Has voted in 27% of votes in parliament with this affiliation — well below average amongst MPs.
what was that again interested? missed it there
What marks Dawnie and Sylv out from most of the rest of Unioinism, of whichever shade of Orange, apart from their gender is that they are not automatically, by virtue of their preference for the link with Britian, right wingers and by extension comfortable bedfellows/bedlassies with the Tory party.
Unionism needs more of the same.
Gwan Sylv.
Indeed MU and SH (I don’t know enough about DP) appears to lack the knee jerk dislike of nationalists and anything to do with Irish culture that most Unionist politicians seem to have as part of their DNA.
TS, that because its not really necessary to play that card with their electorate as much, living in solidly unionist areas. In much the same way many in the Republic are growing out of their dislike of anything British. Its the areas where there is a large minority of either view that the “cultural clashes” occur.
Well in fairness she has spoken more often at Westminster more often than Gerry Adams and people still vote for him.
Stephen Farry MP.
Well, if Martin L. King can have a dream, then so can i.
Personally, as she is a Labour supporter, I would like her to stand as a Labour candidate.
slug……or join the SDLP who hold the Labour franchise here.
Except fitz that the SDLP under Ritchie is now going even further to outgreen SF. I think they are starting to move away from the Labour franchise.
Does that leave scope for a “non-sectarian” Labour party to develop as part of the UK labour party?
They have however got the franchise.
Nope no room for Labour (GB) ever. The stuff of fantasy.
Labour will be standing soon in my opinion. Though it is true that SDLP sit on Labour benches and take Labour whip so are a vote for a Labour government.
The Labour franchise isn’t exclusive. Several countries have more than one party affiliated to Socialist International or the PES.
Lady Hermon could be in a new cabinet if she wins the ND seat as an Independent Unionist and takes the Labour whip. Looks like Labour will be in government for another 5 years, be it a hung parliament.
What would Sir Reg Empey, UUP chairman David Campbell and all those UCUNF supporters in the Ulster Unionist Party think if Gordon Brown appointed Lady Hermon as Secretary of State for NI to replace Shaun Woodward MP in a new parliament?
[b]Gordon Brown on course to win election[/b]
[i]GORDON BROWN is on course to remain prime minister after the general election as a new Sunday Times poll reveals that Labour is now just two points behind the Tories.The YouGov survey places David Cameron’s Conservatives on 37%, as against 35% for Labour — the closest gap between the parties in more than two years
It means Labour is heading for a total of 317 seats, nine short of an overall majority, with the Tories languishing on a total of just 263 MPs. Such an outcome would mean Brown could stay in office and deny Cameron the keys to No 10.[/i]
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article7044185.ece
[b]Lady Hermon: I won’t walk away from North Down[/b]
Monday, 1 March 2010
“When I say I love this constituency I really love this constituency,” she said. “It was my constituents who gave me a light at the end of a very dark tunnel after Jack died and I intend to continue to serve this constituency in some capacity.
“I just have to, as Jack would have advised, you just have to take time to think. It is not my intention to walk away from North Down. They have been very loyal to me and I want to return that loyalty to them.
Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/politics/lady-hermon-i-wonrsquot-walk-away-from-north-down-14702987.html#ixzz0gt6XIYOC