A UUP Councillor has inadvertently exposed the dangers presented to political parties when embracing long-term enemies in pursuit of short-term electoral joy.
Doug Beattie, a decorated British Army captain, joined the Ulster Unionist Party in 2014 in a move which was seen as a bit of a coup for the minority party of unionism.
He was subsequently elected as a councillor for the new Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council.
Last night, Cllr Beattie mounted a defence of the DUP/UUP pact whilst also labelling the DUP as ‘homophobic bigots’ in the same tweet. Impressive, given that he’d only 140 characters to play with.
Problem with Pacts: UUP rep @BeattieDoug labelling DUP he's instructing own voters to support as 'homophobic bigots' pic.twitter.com/AOaNk0i61R
— Chris Donnelly (@chrisadonnelly) March 22, 2015
Today, Beattie has weighed in with a comment on the latest Corner Boy politician Gregory Campbell hates Irish story, slamming the “Pathetic behaviour from DUPs Gregory Campbell MP MLA- any wonder N Ireland can’t be taken seriously.”
Of course, there is no indication that either Gavin Robinson or Nigel Dodds differ in any manner regarding the Irish language from their DUP colleague, yet Doug Beattie as a UUP representative is signed up to endorsing both DUP candidates for the upcoming elections, and to encouraging all UUP voters in those constituencies to vote DUP.
So, the message would appear to be pretty clear: Yes, the DUP are bigots, but they are Loyal bigots, so mark your X accordingly…..
