Battle lines drawn in UUP power struggle

Battle lines were being drawn in the Ulster Unionist Party tonight as leader David Trimble prepared to move against the half of the party’s MPs who have resigned the whip.

The “defining moment for unionism”, which both sides claim is upon them, is just hours away.

With the party divided into two almost equal parts, party officers meet on Thursday to decide what to do about the challenge to the Trimble leadership by the Rev Martin Smyth, Jeffrey Donaldson and David Burnside, who all resigned the whip in opposition to Mr Trimble’s handling of the peace process.

Focus at the meeting will be on Mr Smyth and Mr Donaldson who, as President and Vice President of the party’s ruling Ulster Unionist Council, face sanction for failing to uphold the decisions of the council.

Mr Smyth made clear tonight he would not go without a fight.

The three MPs’ resignations of the whip followed last week’s decision of the council not to endorse their call for a total rejection of the Joint Declaration by the British and Irish governments on the way to restore devolution to the Stormont Assembly.

They lost the vote in the specially convened meeting 46% to 54%.

Ironically, as party officers both Mr Smyth and Mr Donaldson have a right to be at the meeting which will decide what action should be taken.

Party insiders said tonight that the next step would be to form a disciplinary committee to decide on the sanctions to take against them.

But Mr Trimble has made clear he wants to see the two men out of their posts. He said it was “impossible” for them to resign the whip but remain in office.

However Mr Smyth made it clear tonight he would not go quietly.

The South Belfast MP expressed no regret over his decision to resign the whip and said he would not be resigning as President.

“I note the moves to now remove me as President, and even to look at expelling myself and my colleagues from the party,” said Mr Smyth.

“I have no intention of making the job easier for those who oppose me and so I will gladly go through the processes of the party and put my case.” he added.

However there had to be a realisation that such moves would be “widely seen as moves against the half of the party which shares the views of Jeffrey Donaldson, David Burnside and myself,” he said.

Mr Smyth said he was “happy and confident” in the knowledge that he stood with a clear majority of over 70% of unionists who were of a like mind to him.

In a clear attack on David Trimble, Mr Smyth added: “If others still refuse to recognise the minority of their position, they may in the long term be forced to do so.”

He said there was a failure to grasp the fact that the Ulster Unionist Party was almost evenly divided.

“It is delusional to think that in such a situation an organisation can be run on simple majority rule with a silent and subservient 46%, “ he said.