I heard on the grapevine today that the 3 local Conservative staffers – previously employed by the NI Area of the Conservatives or the Conservative and Unionist Joint Committee – are now employed by Conservative HQ in London (CCHQ as it is elegantly known).
This is a move in the right direction.
I have made clear in the past that there has always been a fundamental imbalance in terms of funding of the joint organisation that was created between the Conservative Party and UUP. Therefore it seemed counter-intuitive that Neil Johnston, the local Campaign Director, should be employed by the Joint Committee when his salary was essentially being paid by CCHQ. Moreover, as a Joint Committee employee, Neil was in a strange way disconnected from his own Party’s support staff.
Moreover it put Neil in a difficult position with the (dour) David Campbell and other UUP joint committee members who seemed to have an expectation that Neil should not take a Conservative position in joint committee meetings – as he was, in effect, employed by both Parties. Hence Neil was pulled off the joint committee.
Now the position is much clearer. Moreover, the local Conservative Party organisation is also freed from the baggage that is the Ulster Unionist Party. And Neil can get on with being an Area agent for the Party proper.
It’s clear that the UUP has very little to bring to the ‘pact’ given its inability to bring its sole MP with it. Lady Sylvia is playing very hard to get – despite the Conservatives bending over backwards to woo her. Now I gather most of the wooing is coming from the UUP leadership – but she’s having none of it. Hopefully the Conservatives have come to the conclusion that the Lady’s not for turning from her New Labour ways.
There is genuine desire here for the Conservatives to run real Westminster candidates – unhindered by UUP dead-wood. It’s encouraging that the local campaiging team is now unencumbered. Perhaps the Conservatives are, at last, showing some resolve to seek a mandate to govern this part of the United Kingdom – as the Conservative Party.
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