The sounds of silence...
| 16:27 UK time, Friday, 14 August 2009
DUP MLA Peter Weir has issued a press statement entitled "Why the Silence from UUP and the Tories?" Mr Weir claims that the UUP and their "Tory bosses" are at odds over policing and justice issues. The said the two parties refsused to answer questions put to them by journalists concerning the UUP policy paper published this week.
He went on:
"The policy paper published this week by the UUP demonstrates that they do not trust their Tory bosses. The refusal to comment confirms my suspicion that the Tory Party does not agree with the proposed five-year delay in the full devolution of policing and justice powers. Are they trying to spare Reg Empey's blushes by maintaining a silence?"
I just spoke to a Conservative spokesman and he hit back saying this was a "typical DUP press release trying to goad us." He said ther was no "silence" and that the party's position that policing and justice should be devolved when all the parties agree. He said it's for local politicians to decide the issue.
Oh and just as I was posting this a new UUP press release dropped into my in e-mail. Tom Elliot accuses the DUP of remaining silent and refusing to answer questions on "the vital question on the future of the UK economy - do they want public spending and our massive budget deficit brought under control and do they want taxes raised?"
Ah, the sounds of silence....
I'm 
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Reg Empey is just being nasty in a passive agressive way with his offensive suggestion. It is smug and narrow-minded and contributes nothing to the peace process in the North of Ireland. Reg Empey is portraying himself as a yesterday man who has not repented for the sins of the orange fascist state, yet for some reason this is not the Reg Empey that I thought I knew.
There's something a bit tragic about guy's of his generation attempting a swing to the right and I'm not surprised the tories are backing off a bit. They'll likely be backing off at pace when they discover what some of these UUP cranks are really all about.
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I suspect it is not Empey's doing it would indicate there may be unrest among a small minority of the UUP MLA's who see their future in the Assembly as being extremely limited if the party moves to the middle ground. No more orange tub thumping or trying to out DUP the DUP. They ( www.uup.org/uup-people/stormont/index.php ) particularly the older ones can see many of them would be replaced by younger more capable types from the UUP ranks, like current MLA's Tom Elliot and John McAllister, and maybe even some women or Catholics from the Conservative side.
Assuming they do exist:-
Who is the leader of the group?
Do they want to mount a challenge to our leadership of Empey and the officer team to protect their futures?
Do they want to attempt to get us out of the Westminister, and persumably then Stormont, Conservative deal that has been approved by the party's officiers and executive?
They would lead us into a cul de sac where funds will be very limited and electoral propects disastrous. So they, if they exist, should put up or shut up before they do any long term damage to the party when the clear evidence is there for all to see what division did to us in the past.
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