14 October, 2016 01:00
THERE is growing disquiet among Tory
activists in Northern Ireland over the party's increasingly cosy relationship
with the DUP.
The concerns of rank and file NI
Conservative members are to be raised formally at a forthcoming board meeting
at Conservative Party HQ in London.
One NI Conservative councillor has said he
acknowledges the need for additional support at Westminster but is unhappy with
the emerging informal coalition between the Tories and DUP.
Causeway Coast and Glens councillor David
Harding said: "I fully understand the pragmatic political realities but
I'm genuinely concerned that the nature of the DUP's political aspirations, and
its views on social issues in particular, are not fully understood within
Conservative Party headquarters."
A significant number of activists are said
to have voiced misgivings about last week's DUP 'champagne reception' at the
Tory conference in Birmingham and plans by Secretary of State James Brokenshire
to attend a party fundraiser later this month alongside First Minister Arlene
Foster.
They maintain that the DUP is an opposition
party and that Conservatives in Britain would not welcome a similar alliance
with UKIP.
The Irish News revealed on Wednesday that
Mr Brokenshire had pulled out of the £30-a-head business breakfast following
criticism from SDLP leader Colum Eastwood.
The concern of the NI Conservatives centres
on a growing level of co-operation between Westminster's largest party and its
Stormont counterpart. The Tories' comparatively slim 16-seat Westminster
majority means they may be forced to rely on the support of DUP MPs in the
future.
At last week's reception in Birmingham DUP
leader Arlene Foster acknowledged that there were "some synergies"
between the two parties and earlier this week Sammy Wilson signalled his
party's support for Theresa May's plans for grammar school reforms.
The East Antrim MP urged the prime minister
to ignore the "barrage of criticism" aimed at her desire to roll out
a new generation of selective schools.
On Wednesday DUP MPs backed the
Conservatives in a Westminster vote on the Brexit negotiations.
But the concerns of the NI Conservatives
about the two parties' increasingly close relationship are to be formally
raised by regional chairman Alan Dunlop, at the party's next board meeting on
October 31.
Tory commentator
John Strafford said it was "totally wrong" for the a Conservative
minister to address a DUP reception
Leading Tory commentator John Strafford,
who was central in establishing the Conservatives' regional arm in the late
1980s, told The Irish News he was "very happy" for the DUP to support
Tory policy but insisted they were an "opposition party".
"When you're in government with a
majority then they (the DUP) are real opposition and should be treated as such,
which is why I believe it would wholly inappropriate for a Conservative
government minister to go to a DUP fundraiser," he said.
"I'm not surprised James Brokenshire
pulled out, though in his defence he's fairly new to the job and perhaps
doesn't understand all the nuances that there are in Northern Ireland."
Mr Strafford said he was "very
uncomfortable" with Mr Brokenshire speaking at last week's DUP reception
in Birmingham and said it was "totally wrong" for other parties to
hold events at the Conservative conference.
14 October, 2016 01:00 News
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