BRITISH TORY Party leader David Cameron has described dialogue between his party and the Ulster Unionist Party as an opportunity to create a "new force" in politics in Northern Ireland.
Senior Democratic Unionist Party figures insisted that the potential link-up between the Tories and the UUP posed no threat to the DUP after Mr Cameron and UUP leader Sir Reg Empey announced the formation of a working group to examine possible benefits of greater co-operation between the two parties.
"What I would like to see is the Conservative Party and the Ulster Unionist Party actually come together and create a new force in Northern Irish politics," Mr Cameron said yesterday.
"I think it would be good for Northern Ireland politics. Politics in Northern Ireland should not be just about Orange or Green and constitutional issues; it should be about national politics as well. And I'd like to give people in Northern Ireland a chance to take part in a party and politics that are about all of the issues that we care about," added Mr Cameron.
The Tory leader sent his Northern Ireland spokesman Owen Paterson to Belfast to join Sir Reg to argue the merits of a merger between the two parties.
The UUP has just one MP now, North Down representative Lady Sylvia Hermon - who frequently supports the Labour government at Westminster. She was not present at the press conference chaired by Mr Paterson and Sir Reg in Belfast. This was because she was on leave due to a bereavement, Sir Reg said. She would be invited to be fully involved in the initiative, he added.
While it will take months before the working party reports, Mr Paterson and Sir Reg were well disposed to the proposal. Were it to get the go-ahead, it is likely that the first election contested on a joint Conservative-UUP ticket would be next year's European Elections, with UUP MEP Jim Nicholson running, Sir Reg suggested. Mr Nicholson is linked with the Conservative group in the European Parliament.
Mr Paterson rejected suggestions that the potential merger was partly motivated by annoyance at the DUP's refusal to support Mr Cameron in opposing 42-day detention in the UK.
Mr Paterson said "absolutely", when asked whether it was possible that an Ulster Unionist MP or Ulster Unionist member of the House of Lords would be in David Cameron's government, should the Conservative Party win the next general election.
"We are the only national party offering access to voters in Northern Ireland to have a real say in getting members elected, not just to Westminster but to actually getting them in a Westminster government," he said.
Mr Cameron said the proposal would have no adverse effect on relations with the Government. "We want the very best possible relations with the Irish Government . . . I can't see how this could but strengthen relations."
Sir Reg said the UUP also enjoyed good relations with the Government but referred to how Fianna Fáil was considering setting up in Northern Ireland, possibly in a link-up with the SDLP. "The principal Irish Government party has decided to organise in Northern Ireland. So 'shock horror' we decide to look at the possibility of working together with a national party here," said Sir Reg.
"What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. I don't see any possibility of this affecting relationships at all," he added.
