Eeek! It seems that some inside the UUP are planning a corporate leadership to take over from Trimble, according to Dan McGinn. Alex Kane is against such a plan:
It comes as no surprise that senior members of the Ulster Unionist Party are considering the possibility of a ‘corporate leadership’ scheme to see the party through the next few months. And it comes as no surprise, because it is typical of the arrogance, the debilitating culture of ‘we know better than you’, and the ear-stopping indifference to the views of others, which has brought this party to its knees. The UUP needs a new and clearly identifiable leader. It needs a new regime at the centre.
And Kane is adamant that what is needed inside the party is clarity. He lists a number of key questions:
– Who appointed and then re-appointed the advertising company responsible for the party’s campaign material?
– Who gave the thumbs up to the ‘Simply British’, ‘Decent People’ and Red Bus disasters?
– Who are the members of the election campaign committee and what part did they really play in the campaign?
– Who was responsible for the leaflets and newspaper advertisements published by ‘Concerned Ulster Unionists’ and ‘Concerned Citizens For A Better Future’?
– On whose information, research and statistics was the party relying when it boasted that our vote and seats would increase?
– What are the full financial consequences of our electoral losses? How much money did the campaign, the mini-manifestos, the pre-election leaflets etc cost? Who authorised it? Where did the money come from?
– Who, exactly, provides money for the UUP?
– And, most important of all, who made the key decisions in all of these areas?
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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