Unionists in Lagan Valley pick Assembly candidates

The Lagan Valley constituency association of the Ulster Unionist Party has selected four candidates to stand in the forthcoming…

The Lagan Valley constituency association of the Ulster Unionist Party has selected four candidates to stand in the forthcoming Northern Ireland Assembly elections after representatives failed to persuade the party leadership at a meeting on Friday to reverse a decision not to grant a dispensation to Mr Jeffrey Donaldson so that he could stand.

Faced with the UUP leadership's refusal to let Mr Donaldson stand, about 220 delegates, out of a total association membership of 306, attended Saturday night's meeting, which was reconvened at Pond Park Royal Black Preceptory hall in Lisburn, after it was decided on Thursday to put off selecting candidates until representatives had met the party leadership.

There was loud applause from the hall when Mr Donaldson arrived. Having failed to convince the party leadership to let him stand, the association said it had "no other option" but to choose other candidates.

The atmosphere in the hall was in stark contrast to Thursday's meeting, which ended in heckles and accusations of intimidation and "mob rule", forcing the effective abandonment of the selection.

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The candidates chosen from a list of five were councillors Mr Ken Hull, Mr Ivan Davis, Mr Billy Bell and a former councillor, Mr David Campbell. The majority of the successful nominees, when questioned by reporters, declared themselves Yes candidates. Mr David Campbell said he was initially in the No camp but then "fell into line with the party" after Mr Trimble gave assurances on decommissioning and a number of other issues.

After the meeting Mr Donald son stood shoulder to shoulder with the winning candidates in front of the media. While he expressed disappointment at not being able to stand for the Assembly, Mr Donaldson said he fully supported the four chosen candidates and would campaign for them. "We go forward from here tonight as a united association," he said.

Mr Donaldson added that the onus was now on building a "strong team" to put forward the unionist case in a new Northern Ireland Assembly and to "ensure that the people who have tried to destroy this province for the last 30 years don't get into the government of Northern Ireland until there is an end to violence and they have handed over their weapons".

Mr Jim Dillon, a former chairman of the Lagan Valley constituency association, failed to get nominated. The decision not to select him, said one association member, was being viewed as a direct result of his written intervention to UUP party officers urging them not to change its dispensation ruling in relation to Mr Donaldson. "Jeffrey is very popular with a large number of people and it would appear that they have not forgotten Mr Dillon's letter to party officers tonight," the member said.

Mr Dillon refused to be drawn on whether the constituency association has been "scarred" by representatives appealing to Glen gall Street to let Mr Donaldson stand.

In a statement after the meeting the constituency association said it regretted the party hierarchy's ruling on Mr Donaldson whose stand on decommissioning and prisoner issues they commended.

One association official said there was never a question that it would go down the road suggested by the dissident West Tyrone UUP MP, Mr Willie Thompson, and select Mr Donaldson in defiance of Glengall Street. To do that, he said, would have been to effectively declare "independence" from the UUP.