'Lonely heart' jibe dismissed by unionist officer

Criticisms by a senior Ulster Unionist of former colleagues who defected to the rival DUP were dismissed as “irrelevant” today.

Fermanagh and South Tyrone Assembly member Arlene Foster, who defected to the Democratic Unionists in January, rejected claims by Michael McGimpsey that her pleas for other people to join read like “a lonely hearts advert”.

Mrs Foster, who joined the Rev Ian Paisley’s party along with Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson and Assembly member Norah Beare, responded: “It matters little what Michael McGimpsey now says or does.

“The Ulster Unionist Party, through McGimpsey and others, can engage in bouts of personal abuse against Jeffrey Donaldson and myself all they wish.

“With every day that passes I am glad that I was consistent in my opposition to the policies of concession after concession to republicans.

“I can assure Michael I am not the one who is suffering the lonely heart syndrome. Playing a full part within a united, determined and principled party makes a pleasant change from the continued soap opera that is now the Ulster Unionist Party.”

Mr McGimpsey claimed last night that the departure of his three former colleagues had failed to result in the widescale defections to the DUP that many of their supporters had predicted.

The South Belfast Assembly member said: “Looking over their shoulders, they found that almost nobody followed them.

“Nobody will deny that there have been a few defectors to the DUP but nowhere near the numbers that Jeffrey and Arlene’s egos had imagined.

“In fact, our own evidence points to a healthy growth in UUP membership across the province and in Lagan Valley alone we had almost 70 new members join since Mr Donaldson’s departure.”

Mrs Foster said unionism was realigning and the DUP was trying to build a strong movement under which all unionists could unite against those who sought to thwart and undermine the principles of democracy and freedom.

“The days of Trimble and McGimpsey defeatism and a leadership with no bottom line are gone,” she said.

“Unionism is regaining its confidence and the DUP team is now well placed to lead unionism forward and to play its role in building a better future for all the people of Northern Ireland.”