UUP running three in Strangford…

It seems the UUP is to run two three candidates in Strangford – one of the constituencies where the DUP fancies its chances for four seats. We have this email from a Slugger regular, who has his doubts about the strength of the candidate the party has selected to run for John Taylor’s (now Lord Kilclooney) seat. Update: Hmmm… that would be three… Michael Henderson, ten years a councillor in Castlereagh, who is Carryduff based…

“You may be interested to know that Strangford UUP held their selection meeting for the Assembly Election on Friday last. They are running two candidates and selected:

David McNarry MLA
Angus Carson

McNarry should get re-elected however Carson is not a strong candidate. He was a surprise selection and only got the ticket because Johnny Andrews failed to provide transport for his supporters.

Carson is a fisherman with a small powerbase on the Ards Peninsula, he is an Ards councillor. In my view, he is a poor speaker and is not able to articulate his views clearly. The vote that went to Lord Kilclooney last time will not automatically transfer to Carson”

And yet, this looks like a more conservative/realistic approach than the party has taken in other areas. The geographic spread is certainly better with Carson than a Comber centric McNarry/Andrews ticket. And the fact that he is already has local form as a councillor might also make him a stronger candidate in the eyes of the local Association. Michael Henderson

Mick Fealty

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