Ulster Unionists and Conservatives discuss merger

The British Conservative Party is in talks with the Ulster Unionists about joining forces to create a new political movement in the North, it was revealed today.

Conservative Party leader David Cameron revealed that talks have been under way between the parties for the last few months, leading to a decision last week to set up a working group on the creation of the new movement.

The working group is expected to discuss issues like whether a merger should take place or whether the two parties should work together in an alliance, and will report to Mr Cameron and UUP leader Reg Empey in the autumn.

In a joint article in the Daily Telegraph, the two men said that they wanted to create conditions to shift the focus of politics in the North away from the constitutional and sectarian issues which have dominated the last few decades and onto the bread-and-butter concerns of ordinary people throughout the UK, like tax, welfare and education.

If agreement is sealed, UUP MPs are expected to take the Conservative whip and to be invited to serve as ministers in future Conservative administrations.

Although the UUP currently has only one MP at Westminster – Sylvia Hermon - it is thought likely to improve its showing at the next general election and may hold the balance of power in the case of a hung Parliament.

Mr Cameron said: “For the first time in decades the people of Northern Ireland will now have a new choice of politics.

“These discussions with the UUP should mark the beginning of a creation of a new mainstream political movement that could provide leadership nationally but as importantly at every other level.

“Northern Ireland could have a new political force that follows an agenda of prosperity and opportunity and not one focused on division and the problems of the past.

“This new force – whilst supporting devolution – would be the only genuine national movement that stands and is represented in every part of the United Kingdom.

“And it will focus on the real issues now affecting the lives of the people of Northern Ireland every day – issues like schools, welfare and strengthening families.”

The Conservatives have historic ties with the Ulster Unionists and share a similar political philosophy, but there have been no formal links between the two parties at Westminster since the 1970s.

It is thought that the talks form part of an effort by Mr Cameron to spread the Conservatives’ appeal beyond the party’s traditional heartlands in England and into the other parts of the United Kingdom. At present, the Conservatives have only four MPs outside England – three in Wales and one in Scotland.

In their Telegraph article, Mr Cameron and Empey said that the restoration of devolution had created the conditions for a return to “normal politics” in the North.

And they said that it was time for voters in the North to have the opportunity to elect MPs who had a real prospect of ministerial office and the ability to influence decisions on issues which not devolved to the Belfast Assembly, like foreign affairs, defence and taxation.

They wrote: “The issues that most concern people are not of a narrow sectarian nature. Many people are becoming exasperated by local politicians concentrating on what appear to be exclusively parochial issues.

“Like most others in the UK, what really worries them is social breakdown, fuel duties, the 10p tax row, excessive regulation on business, pensions and the Lisbon treaty.

“There is a real danger that some of Northern Ireland’s politicians will continue to look inwards and become ’Ulster Nationalists’. Whilst it is right that local issues such as the NHS are now dealt with at Stormont, this new era of peace and potential prosperity gives us an historic opportunity to propel Northern Ireland into the mainstream of UK politics.”

They added: “The time now seems right for both parties to take stock and to consider how best to take forward our shared values of support for the Union, support for the family, respect for hard work, self-reliance, law and order, public service and our obligations to others within society.

“There would be no clearer signal that Northern Ireland was moving on and becoming a ’normal’ part of the UK than Northern Ireland MPs supporting and serving in a Conservative Government. Such an historic move would be the ultimate expression that whilst the Conservative Party supports the devolution settlement, it is the only genuine national party that stands, and is represented in, every corner of the United Kingdom.

“The Conservative Party and Ulster Unionist Party want the support of all those who share our joint agenda and common vision, regardless of their religion, background, or whatever part of the UK they happen to reside in.”

The two leaders said they were hoping for “a surge of support from people in every part of the community who want to leave the past behind and join together to see a 21st-century Northern Ireland in which every citizen is an equal citizen in the politics of the United Kingdom”.

They added: “We believe the time for change has arrived and we are determined to make it happen.”