Diane Splits the Unionist vote

I read with dismay the decision by the DUP to nominate Dianne Dodd’s as their European candidate. The last thing Unionism needs is the DUP standing a third candidate out of nowhere and splitting the vote. The DUP claim to be in favour of unionist unity but the DUP’s decision to stand a third candidate against two sitting MEP’s makes a non-sense of this. This DUP tactic is a throwback to the days when the DUP willingly backed vote splitting candidates to hand Westminster seats to Sinn Fein and the SDLP

What is even more ridiculous are Diane Dodd’s claims that only the DUP can beat Sinn Fein thus in her words,

“Denying Sinn Fein a license to parade on the world stage claiming to be the voice of Northern Ireland.”

Under the DUP’s watch Sinn Fein has gone from 2 ministers to 5 and thanks to the DUP Martin McGuiness is the co-equal first minister. The DUP handed Sinn Fein a license to parade on the world stage as leaders of Northern Ireland. It therefore smack’s of rank hypocrisy that Diane Dodd’s claims she wants to defeat her government bed fellows and deny Sinn Fein a license that her own party handed them long ago.

I thought the Dromore by-election would have taught the DUP that they can no-longer rely on a shot up party brand to get their candidates elected. The people of Northern Ireland have woken up to the DUP’s broken promises. On the DUP’s watch parents have been left in the dark about their children’s future, the era of stop start government has returned and policing and justice is being introduced on a timetable to suit Sinn Fein. The DUP promised us they were getting it right when they were getting it wrong, they heralded a fair deal and came back with a raw one. Diane Dodds will wheel out the same hollow rhetoric and empty promises in the run up to the European election but I urge the people of Lisburn to choose experience and competence over questionable name recognition. Vote for Jim Nicholson an Ulster Unionist MEP with 19 years experience and a proven track record of representing Northern Ireland at the highest levels within the EU.