Everything Ulster - Election 2005

While 9 DUP MPs made the journey to Westminster for the opening of the new Parliament today, Lady Sylvia Hermon returned alone. Re-elected as MP for North Down, she's the only Ulster Unionist elected to this Parliament. Lady Hermon still hasn't decided whether or not to stand for the Ulster Unionist Party leadership and seems to be genuinely having trouble weighing the responsibility of caring for her husband, who suffers from Alzheimers, with an apparent "sense of duty".

She was interviewed by the BBC today and took the opportunity to say (much to the disgust, I'm sure, of my friends over at A Tangled Web) that the Ulster Unionist party must become more liberal and 'put water between' themselves and the DUP.

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I agree with this to an extent, I think the party does need to become more liberal, but as a natural conservative, I think they must be careful of drifting too far away from not just the DUP but the mass of voters. For example I believe they must fight to the bitter end for our grammar schools (although I'd argue that this is an egalitarian policy) and that any deal with Sinn Fein/IRA is off the table until there is hard evidence of the IRA ending it's violent, criminal struggle.

I've said before that I believe Lady Hermon would be a great personality to have at the head of the party, but I'm not sure how much this liberalising could further eat into the party's core vote and push more to the DUP (if there are many left to go, which I'm sure there potentially are). At the same time, would this new more liberal UUP be able to attract traditional Alliance/non-voters to come out on polling day for the Ulster Unionists?

Interestingly enough, the author of one of the letters in tonight's Belfast Telegraph points out that most of the candidates (UUP ones presumably?) were "lumpy men lacking style, presence and vocal delivery". She went on to say "I'm a nationalist and I'd vote for her myself if she was standing in my constituency."

When first asked if she would stand, Lady Hermon answered saying "I care desperately for the future of Northern Ireland," but that she must consider the impact her leading the party might have on her ability to care for her husband.