I was genuinely sorry to see Mike Nesbitt quit the political stage t’other day. Partly because I like him on a personal basis and partly – yes, I confess it, Virginia – because I didn’t see the UUP making any major advances under his leadership. But as I indicated elsewhere, I thought his farewell speech was dignified and graceful, something my old chum Nelson ‘Kiss me, Hardy’ McCausland wasn’t capable of producing when he sloped off into the political sunset.
The reason Mike Nesbitt quit was because his party did so poorly, and they did so poorly in part because they were a party divided. Mike had pushed (very gently, remember) the case for cross-community voting, by saying he’d be giving his No 2 to the SDLP, while Danny Kennedy and most of his MLAs said they’d be doing no such thing, they’d give their NO 2 to another unionist candidate. A house divided and all that. Exit Mike, stage right.
In his farewell speech, Mike projected himself as the man who had tried to move our NE nest beyond its tedious old Orange-Green quarrels, but the electorate had rejected that. In other words, I did the right thing, I wasn’t a prisoner of old tribal loyalties, but the electorate clearly are.
Maybe we’d be better not canonising Mike just yet. In the 2015 Westminster election, Mike told his UUP colleagues that an electoral pact was “the best possible” arrangement. “Without co-operation, there was a real danger that our capital city would have no pro-union MP after 7 May,” And so the UUP and the DUP fielded a single unionist candidate in North Belfast, East Belfast, Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and Newry and Armagh.
In short, the man who quit claiming that he’d been the champion of moving beyond the old loyalties, a short time ago was arguing about the importance of keeping the republicans/nationalists in their place – that is, out of Westminster. So while he gave a moving farewell address may not really have been the saintly post-tribal-loyalties champion he sketched himself as.
You left out his role in the handing out of thousands of leaflets during the Union flag upheaval.
“You left out his role in the handing out of thousands of leaflets during the Union flag upheaval.”
What role?
Whatever his own intentions, we cannot deny that the unionist electorate listened and that the SDLP benefitted greatly from his actions.
Only fair since historically their votes have been transferring to UUP for considerable time as they have always been anti Sinn Fein and post nationalist if not pro union as they are in my opinion.
There was absolutely nothing in his statement for the UUP to gain and everything to lose so on that basis it was bad judgement on his part but a spur of the moment err.
But if we strip back on the brinksmanship and consider it more than a game of chess as some do.
I cant help but feel it was the right thing to do.
One thing it has done for me, is opened my eyes to what some have said on this blog already that all unionists are not the same.
I don’t think that can be denied as truth any longer and we have Mike to thank for that.
It is just a pity he had not focussed on that positive message from the start of his leadership within the UUP. He could potentially have made a significant difference.
“There was absolutely nothing in his statement for the UUP to gain and everything to lose so on that basis it was bad judgement on his part but a spur of the moment err.”
There was something to gain. SDLP transfers in return, which helped get the UUP elected in FST and nearly helped in South Belfast.
You may remember how staunch a unionist Brian Faulkner was as NI prime minister, from his Longstone Road bigoted parading.
But then British politicians started whispering in his ear, and he decided to try to lead his party towards moderation – but he turned around and found that his party support had totally disappeared. He was history!
Then Terence O’Neill settled in as PM, and he started talking to Catholics – his party support disappeared, and his future was firmly in the past.
Francis Chichester-Clark was next in line and he made the same fatal error of thinking that he could lead unionists on a path of being friendly with your Catholic neighbours.
Poor Mike, although spending most of his previous life in the news media, where he should have been aware of that aspect of unionist history, thought his supporters should consider giving their lower preference votes to the SDLP – with the same negative result, he had to fall on his sword.
History tells us that unionism is irreformable – an awful indictment, but experience tells us it is true!
Your history is spot-on Sherdy, but I doubt that many of these young DUPers would know anything about any of it to learn any lessons…Come to think of it ,even someone like James Brokenshire was only born in 1968 …What exactly do any of them really know of the history of it all?
“Francis Chichester-Clark”
Who?
Ha ha !! That’d be Robin’s brother!!
I don’t know sherdy
I sense things have changed for good.
It is not only nationalists who are angry at the behaviour of the DUP.
With brexit, there are no safe options for separatist unionism any more.
There is also the common interest of EU membership.
We are in new territory and I have a feeling that negative politics from any quarter will be punished heavily from here on in and that the DUP have a lot further to fall still to go yet.
Will they be foolish enough to support yet more Arlene intransigence and bring them to yet another election where it could be the DUP who end up a political backwater?
I have real difficulty in understanding why a UUP voter might give a second preference vote to the DUP. I can understand them not giving a vote to anyone else at all ,but why would they give them a vote if they are so opposed to their policies?.I mean to say , the DUP are currently made up of all those old UUP kinds of voters anyway….their leader for one and Wee Sir Jeffrey for two . They were UUP after allThey are really the New Ulster Unionist Party anyway.The remaining UUP members sound as if they’d be better served within the Alliance Party possibly, so why exactly is there a UUP party at all?Why did they leave the UUP, exactly? I thought it was something to do with not wanting to share power with Sinn Fein. I remember David Trimble really got some stick back then too.
It is very confusing given that theunionist community will now be experiencing the Sinn Fein Crocodile Heebie- Jeebies and will be gathering together in a variety of Orange Halls and the like to make pacts among themselves for comfort and to give the Shinners a bloody nose next time out .They’ll attempt to gather in all the loyalist paramilitaries too , I presume and sell them the same old soap they’ve always sold them in the past. They’ve been trying already to buy their affection. It’ll be “No Rome Rule” all over again, coming up, but all played out with comparatively fewer numbers each time.
As for TV Mike , we’re always sad to see new ideas falling in face of fear , but remember it is only some four years since NI21 was formed as a political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 2013(yes! Only a blink ago!) by ex-Ulster Unionist Party MLAs Basil McCrea and John McCallister, remember, and we all had great hopes for fresh unionist thinking.. Although it explicitly supported Northern Ireland staying part of the United Kingdom (i.e. unionism), it planned to designate as “other” rather than “unionist” in future Stormont elections. It presented itself as a “cross-community party” and promoted a Northern Irish national identity for the 21st century. Unionism doesn’t appear to be ready for the 21st century.Mike stopped just short of saying those very words in his own sign-off speech.
As of November 2016 following its failure to renew its registration with the Electoral Commission it has effectively ceased to exist
I’m glad to see the back of Nesbitt. I don’t think Nesbitt was sincere in his move beyond tribal politics – totally opportunistic and a last gasp chance to salvage something from a party that is going one way and that’s down. Nesbitt, it seems, would jump into bed with everyone and anyone all in attempt to bolster support for a dying party – even the kiss life, wouldn’t be enough to save the UUP at this stage I feel, never mind a leg over with the SDLP. It seems vote Mike get Colum became – vote Colum, don’t get Mike!
“because I didn’t see the UUP making any major advances under his leadership” – I’ve no doubt any further leader would continue Mike’s backward trend. Going Into negotiations with Tom Elliiot as chief negotiator – sorry, I laughed when this was announced on Sunday Politics. Bring back a failed leader of the party to lead negotiatons – they may as well bring back David Trimble. That’s the equivalent of the SDLP bringing Dr Doom, Alastair McDonnell, to lead the party in what seems the biggest negotiations in a decade at least.
Who will replace, Nesbitt? Steve Aiken? The guy who thought Nesbitt was going to be First Minister and that Sinn Fein were going to falter significantly in this election? The guy who thought the UUP would be the largest party in NI even though they fielded 24 candidates. Doug Beattie? Potentially ruled himself out but think he will be back. Seems sensisble enough but is he really leadership material? Robin Swann? Doesn’t seem the most inspiring individual to lead a party? Are there any others? I think it’s a sincere possibility that any of the aforementioned will ensure the UUP make no further political advances. The UUP, it would seem, are finished. 4th largest party – Alliance hot on their tails with a growing mandate. Mike jumped before he was pushed by one of those who will undoubtedly be in a similar situation next time around.
“The reason Mike Nesbitt quit was because his party did so poorly, ”
His party increased its vote both in absolute and relative terms.
Then why did he resign,MT.
They get sdlp transfers anyway
It was either a mistake or his true desire for change that slipped out
Perhaps the uup is not the party that he thought it was
I am not so sure it was a calculated move to gain transfers though
enoch was right they all end in failure.