Northern Ireland parties begin Assembly campaigns

Northern Ireland political parties were today proceeding with their Assembly election campaigns despite concerns that the vote next month could be postponed.

Unionist, nationalist and cross-community parties insisted they would go ahead with the official launches of their Stormont election campaigns following the dissolution of the Northern Ireland Assembly last night.

As Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy mulled over a decision whether to postpone the election for a second time, the Rev Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists confirmed they were intending to go ahead with a candidates launch in Belfast tomorrow.

Within an hour of the transmission of the first party election broadcast of the campaign from David Trimble’s Ulster Unionists, a DUP spokesman said: “As far as we are concerned the first shot in this campaign has been fired.

“Until we hear otherwise, we have to act as if an assembly election is going to go ahead on May 29.

“Our plans are to go ahead with our candidates launch in Belfast tomorrow and our first party election broadcast is due to go out on Wednesday.”

The nationalists SDLP was also preparing for the first airing of its election broadcast tomorrow and a candidates launch in Belfast on Wednesday.

The cross community Alliance Party said it was also proceeding with plans to launch its campaign this week.

Mr Murphy was expected to make a judgment call on whether elections would proceed over the next 72 hours.

However some parties believe it would be difficult for the British government to call off the election if they were to proceed with their election campaigns.

Last month the British government shifted the date of the Assembly election from May 1 to May 29 in a bid to buy more time for the restoration of devolution.

With Mr Trimble’s Ulster Unionists insisting republicans have still not gone far enough in clearing up uncertainty about the IRA’s future, there is speculation that the British government might put the elections on hold again to buy more time.

A Northern Ireland Office spokesman insisted that the British government was continuing to work at enabling the elections to go ahead in a positive backdrop on May 29.