Trimble to become Conservative member of House of Lords

Former Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble is to join the Conservative Party in the House of Lords, it emerged tonight.

Trimble, who has been a peer since June last year and was the former First Minister in the North, is to leave the UUP which he led between 1995 and 2005.

Former colleagues including his successor as Ulster Unionist leader Reg Empey paid tribute to him and wished him well in his new role as a Tory peer.

Empey said Lord Trimble's decision to join the Tories and get involved in national politics should come as no surprise.

"David's long-standing interest in Conservative and national politics was no secret," the East Belfast Assembly member said.

"Colleagues and seasoned commentators will not be surprised by David's decision to take the Conservative whip.

"Through his vision and commitment, David, along with others, helped to transform politics here in Northern Ireland.

"He now brings these qualities to the national stage and I wish him well in whatever role he takes within national political life.

"We look forward to continuing to work with him in the interests of a peaceful, stable Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom."

UUP peer Lord Rogan of lower Iveagh said Trimble's decision to become a Conservative peer was understandable and natural given the links between the two parties.

"There has been a long, historic tradition of Ulster Unionist figures at Westminster co-operating with the Conservative Party," Lord Rogan said.

"I expect that this co-operation within Westminster will now be deepened and further enhanced. Lord Trimble will continue to be a friend of Northern Ireland, the Union and the Ulster Unionist Party."

Prior to joining the Ulster Unionists in 1978, Trimble was a former member of the Vanguard Progressive Unionist Party and was elected to the Northern Ireland Convention in South Belfast.

In 1990, he rose through the ranks of the Ulster Unionist Party to become the MP for Upper Bann, capturing the seat in a by-election following the death of Harold McCusker.

In 1995, he surprised pundits by winning the race to become Ulster Unionist leader following the resignation of James Molyneaux.

In 1998, he led the Ulster Unionists into accepting the Good Friday Agreement in a deal involving Sinn Féin, the nationalist SDLP, cross-community and loyalist parties as well as the British and Irish governments.

He was rewarded - along with the SDLP's John Hume - with the Nobel Peace Prize that year.

However after becoming First Minister, he became embroiled in a bitter battle with hardliners in his party, the Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists and with Sinn Féin over demands for IRA disarmament and an end to paramilitary activity.

In 2003, he saw his party eclipsed in the Assembly election by Mr Paisley's DUP.

In a disastrous general election two years later, Mr Trimble lost his House of Commons seat to the DUP's David Simpson and his party was reduced to just one Westminster seat.

Within days, he quit as Ulster Unionist leader but was elevated to the House of Lords last June.

Lord Trimble resigned his Assembly seat in Upper Bann and did not stand in last month's Stormont election.

During a visit to Belfast last October, Conservative leader David Cameron held the door open to Lord Trimble joining his party.

While the Tory leader denied there had been any discussion with the former Northern Ireland First Minister about becoming a frontbench member in the Lords, he said: "David Trimble is a friend of the Conservative Party.

"The Conservative Party is a friend of David Trimble.

"I have huge admiration for him. I got to know him a little bit in the last Parliament.

"I have not had any conversations with him at all but I am a great fan of people from all walks of life joining the Conservative Party.

"I am in the business of trying to enlarge the Conservative Party.

"So far we have got 20,000 new members and there is plenty of opportunity for people in Northern Ireland, as in the rest of the United Kingdom, to come and join."

A former junior minister in the last power-sharing government in the North, James Leslie, joined the Conservatives last year, defecting from the Ulster Unionists.

He stood as a Conservative candidate in North Down in last month's Assembly Election but failed to win their first-ever Stormont seat.