Everything Ulster - Election 2005

ANOTHER attempt to DUPe Unionists appeared in today's Newsletter. At the same time as some DUP supporters liberally accuse the Ulster Unionists of arrogance, it was interesting to read Christopher Salford's article, in which he tries to frighten the unionist electorate into voting for his party. He writes a Newsletter article called "DUP are only serious option for unionists." (If that isn't arrogance... what is?)

I beg the question, far from the only serious option - are the DUP a serious option at all?

What Salford is basically saying is "If you don't vote for us, Sinn Fein have won," going on to warn that if voters don't "rally to the DUP" we should "prepare for a very smug Gerry Adams on May 6." I'm well used to the DUP spouting rubbish like this, but what scares me is that suddenly it seems to be working!

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He argues that simply because "vast swathes of middle-class Roman Catholic Ulster seem happy voiting for" the murderers' apologists of Sinn Fein, that somehow that means the DUP are entitled to unionists votes. He continues about how doomed the SDLP are and that somehow this translates into the notion that we all have to rush out and vote DUP. I don't know about you, but I will not have Sinn Fein voters dictating who I am going to vote for.

Now's the scary part, Mr Salford asks us to imagine the story being beamed around the world on the day of the count that Sinn Fein/IRA had won the most seats and/or votes in the election. Obviously Unionists must stop this horror. Obviously this means they must vote DUP.

Now I see, silly me! It doesn't matter that the DUP will do nothing to improve Northern Ireland over the life of the next parliament. It doesn't matter that, in reality, Ian Paisley is a walking joke to the outside world (lets face it, do we really want people to think of an old, out of date, right-wing religious fundamentalist nut-case whenever they hear the word unionist? Sinn Fein might, I certainly don't.)

Mr Salford, this is shameful. Attempting to petrify the Unionist electorate into voting for you on the back of something so superficial is a disgrace, but nothing less than I would expect from the party who claim to be ever so hard on terrorists, and yet were inches away from agreeing to a deal that could have seen a former IRA gunman as Northern Ireland's Justice Minister.

Despite all the DUP flag waving and despite all Ian Paisley's bellowing about the "enemies of Ulster" Unionists do have a choice this election time.

- They can choose to vote for religious fundamentalists espousing 'politcal Protestantism' rather than Unionism.
- They can choose to vote for slogans and buzz words hiding an appeasement agenda.
- They can choose to vote for a party built around one man's ego.

Or they can vote for the Ulster Unionists.

Source: Newsletter, 2nd April, Page 22 - 'DUP are only serious option for unionists' (No link available)