Wednesday, September 20, 2006
EXCLUSIVE: Leslie defects to the Tories…
The Northern Irish Tories remain a shadow of their glory days when in 1992 Lawrence Kennedy took 32% of the North Down Westminister vote. Yet Slugger hears that tomorrow they will announce their latest Unionist defector, James Leslie.
A former MLA, Leslie was dropped by the North Antrim Unionist Association: a somewhat short-sighted move, perhaps, since he was considered a highly talented junior minister with a solid local voter base. Their prefered candidate, James Curry, went on to lose Leslie’s seat to the DUP.
Widely regarded as one of their more able ministers, he served as David Trimble’s right hand man in the Office of First and Deputy First Minister. It is blow for Reg Empey, who must be concerned at the loss of such talent. And equally concerned at the possibility of further defections.
As for the Tories, well, Leslie’s not a sitting MLA but it’s certainly a significant rise on the last defection. This is a serious coup for the Conservatives.
We understand the Belfast Telegraph is carrying a fuller interview with Leslie tomorrow.
Mick Fealty @ 07:56 PM
Well done the NI Tories! Getting a bit of a taste for expansion I see.
Could Esmond be next :)
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 08:19 PMMick you might give the NI Conservatives a link!
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 08:21 PMOK.
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 08:26 PMTo me it seems the logical home for many UUP members.
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 08:39 PMAt the last genreal election I posted on here about the stupidity of the UUP putting up someone from England somewhere to take on the Doc. Although whoever they put up would have been beat it would have allowed the vanquished a few days in the sun and built a profile towards the next stormont election. Leslie was a former MLA with a reasonable profile in N.Antrim, especially Ballymoney. Although I doubt if he will raise enough votes for an MLA he will take votes from the UUP in N Antrim perhaps even enough to allow the DUP in for a fourh seat. Oh how the Doc would crow about that
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 08:55 PMHmm… unionists joining a party with a green and blue logo. Could the next move be to Fine Gael or the PDs...?
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 09:03 PMCould Billy Leonard be next?
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 09:05 PMLOL@occasional commentator, he has been everywhere else
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 09:33 PMJames was one of the very few genuinely talented MLAs in the first Assembly and a very highly rated junior minister.
The UUP in North Antrim made a huge mistake when they de-selected him and UUP HQ made an equally huge mistake when it failed to tap into the sort of expertise and contacts he has.
I wish him well in the local Tories. Also, I predict that at least two other senior members of the UUP will be making the same journey fairly shortly.
Maybe Reg should appeal the Speaker’s ruling on the UUP-UVF pact; for at the present rate of people dropping out of the UUP (even if they aren’t actually defecting to other parties) he’s going to need anyone he can get!
BooBoo
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 09:53 PMInteresting BooBoo. There’s just over a week until Bournemouth, or is there something of a Cameron effect going on here?
Leslie certainly raises the ante for the reasons you outline. But it won’t get serious until sitting MLAs start to move.
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 10:06 PMMick
I’d suggest it’s less a Cameron effect going on.. more the Empey vessel..
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 10:09 PMNow an Exclusive, eh?
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 10:10 PMYeah, well, you know, no one seemed to get that from my post, so, well, I thought I’d, ah, remind people, like, you know?
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 10:13 PMAlthough there is certainly an Empey push factor, I think there is a Cameron pull factor, combined with a bit more resolve from the NI Conservatives themselves.
Interesting what BooBoo says. The most obvious potential person to move from the UUP to the Conservatives is Esmond Birnie, which is where he began political life. However, he has done well in the UUP and so may not want to risk a move.
Possibly the Conservatives could pick up defections from Alliance. IJP?
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 10:17 PMCan’t do any harm, I suppose.. let’s hope any subsequent reports acknowledge the source of the story… *ahem*
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 10:18 PMEsmond’s name has been mentioned, but only speculatively. One Dublin paper apparently thought Sylvia Hermon was a possibility, but Conservatism is not really her style. Labour, if they organised locally, maybe.
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 10:26 PMThe key will be the NI Conservatives proving themselves in public.. keeping quiet, and waiting [and/or plotting], will not be an option that they can maintain for long if they want to attract more.
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 10:38 PMCertainly the rumours regards Esmond Birnie’s impending defection to the Tories are rife.
I have been informed by a source in the Finaghy branch that he was mortified to lose out on a council seat to the DUP in ‘05.
He clearly cannot identify with a large swath of his electorate who reside in working class areas.
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 11:06 PMby whom was James Leslie regarded as an affective junior Minister? he was in the post a very short time - after Dermot Nesbitt moved to fill Sam Foster’s shoes at the DOE - and he didn’t make any impact at all.
he was a fleeting personality in a non descript Minister. when did he become “well regarded”? what did he achive as Minister?
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 11:21 PMHe clearly cannot identify with a large swath of his electorate who reside in working class areas.
He lost out by 0.9 of a vote… hardly a full scale rebellion
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 11:37 PMNice chap, but the stockbroker/big house style doesn’t really attact the mass of middle/lower middle/working/farmer unionists in North Antrim (or anywhere else?) these days.
He may (or may not) have been an effective junior minister, but he wasn’t there long enough for anyone to notice. But getting on with the office grind and tidying up after the Trimble/Durkan rows isn’t cutting edge politics and gave him no profile.
And Mick, James Currie didn’t lose to the DUP. They retained their three seats, replacing the defecting Gardner Kane with Mervyn Storey. Currie actually lost the second UUP seat to McGuigan of SF. Check it at ark.ac.uk/elections.
Posted by on Sep 20, 2006 @ 11:41 PMNo one was there long enough guys. No one was in government longer than 18 months out of a five year term.
Duly noted Billy.
Posted by on Sep 21, 2006 @ 06:05 AMMake no mistake James Leslie was a pragmatic Tory who only joined the UUP to get elected.
All he done is return to his real roots.
He cannot win an MLA or MP seat in North Antrim, maybe however on one of the new Super Councils if he thought it worth his while.
Posted by on Sep 21, 2006 @ 07:23 AMSlug
That took all of 14 posts...! :)
Personally I think Cameron’s a void.
I prefer parties with principles.
Posted by on Sep 21, 2006 @ 07:34 AMIJP
The party has one core principle - it wants to win the next election - the rest are secondary.
I think they are right Alliance will never control anything in NI so its principles may be fine but use are they if they can’t enact them. The will only ever be a lobby group at best.
Posted by on Sep 21, 2006 @ 07:42 AM
