Last week Michael Shilliday wrote this piece in The News Letter, opining that while it was too early to judge Mike Nesbitt’s leadership of the UUP, despite the obvious challenges, he had made a “good start”.
We are grateful to Deirdre Nelson for giving us this response to Michael’s article:
Earlier this week Michael Shilliday assessed Mike Nesbitt’s first 100 days as UUP leader.
While I agree with much of this article I feel that neither Mike nor Michael has addressed one of the main issues facing the UUP. Voters are staying away from polling booths in droves and women especially are opting out of the whole process.
The UUP has seen its vote decline, particularly east of the Bann in urban constituencies. However, it has failed to entice voters back or to regain voters lost to Alliance at previous elections. In East Belfast, the UUP should have been able to capture the seat from a weakened Peter Robinson, but voters in one of the most unionist constituencies in Northern Ireland opted instead for a party at best neutral, and at worst, hostile to the union.
Why?
For too long the UUP has attempted to slow the tide by courting rural voters and the Orange Order. Both these groups are in decline in terms of population, yet the UUP appears to see no other group as worthy of its attention. They have failed to produce serious policy which the professional class can engage with and they have ignored the voice of women on an almost permanent basis.
Only if they seriously begin to reach out to this disaffected group in North Down, East Antrim, North Belfast, South Belfast, East Belfast and Strangford and address the issues which concern ordinary voters on a daily basis can they begin to stem the decline and reverse their electoral fortunes. Without strong policies, rooted in day to day life and explained clearly to ALL voters the UUP will no longer be the third party in NI, it will die slowly.
Deirdre Nelson is a “mother of three with a long-standing interest in politics and the trade union movement, including a 6-year stint as a councillor in Ballymena. Recently qualified as a post-primary teacher following a long hiatus from working as a supply teacher. Believes everyone should be politically active as it’s the only way to ensure politicians work in the country’s best interests and political decisions concern us all every day.”
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Harry Merrick
July 21, 2012 at 5:44 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
Deirdre, far be it for me to disagree with you, but you are surely being most unfair here? “What” elections have the UUP not been performoing well in? SFAIK, since Mike Nesbitts election as the new Leader, there has not been any. Possibly Council elections, but nothing more. You cannot expect Mike to wave a wand and magically perfom miracles. The OO is no longer a problem. Party discipline is at last being enforced. Policies will follow. Mike has already said he wants more women in power. Mike has been in power just over 100 days. He needs at least another 100days to really get to grips with the UUP and sort out the internal wranglings and petty behaviour. He does have a good mandate. Let him get on with it, give him the time!!
Ciaran Mc Clean
July 22, 2012 at 9:46 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
I believe there are more issues than the above mentioned by Deirdre that explain why the UU are ‘fading to gray’. The first reason is that they are in Government! The second reason is that they have given over the principal of ‘fair play’ in order to stay in Government. The big two parties of Government are treating the UU (and the sdlp and alliance) the same way the tough guy on the beach does to the wimp, they are kicking sand in their face. Rather than stand up and adress the bullying the UU are happy to put up with it in order that they seem relevant because of one seat at the Execuitive table! The word pathetic does not do justice to such a position for the UU to find itself in. Not only that, they find themselves having to endorse proposals that are an athema to people who want to see democratic accountability, they are having to act as the ‘hangman’ for those on the recieving end of such proposals. Take the proposed A5 in Co Tyrone which will destroy thousands of acres of prime farmland. It most probably will never even get going so open to legal challange is the process that got it this far. Even the dogs on the street know this was a ‘sweetheart deal’ done at St Andrews to get SF and the DUP to hop into bed with each other. It has nothing at all to do with need but everything to do with both of these parties being able to say to their voters ‘we can deliver’! The saddest part is that it is a UU Minister who is doing the dirty work for them even though senior UU people know full well that the entire deal is rotten to the core. I have voted UU since 1998 (i have voted for myself in the last two elections), i have lived in various countries over the world and carry no ‘political baggage’ in NI. I believe in meritocracy, the best person should get the job. Unfortunatly the opposite is the case in our democracy, whats worse is that the UU are acting as ‘enablers’ for those who are now abusing their power in the same way they did whilst fermenting hatred before they got their hands on the levers of the Establishment. And this is why the UU will suffer more and more as time goes on. Like the alcoholic who wants to stop drinking but keeps returning to the bar for ‘one for the road’, so too are the UU destroying the vital organs of its body by association with the abusers. No harm to Mike Nesbitt, he is not a politician in the real meaning of the word. Nick Clegg and David Cameron types suit the mainland, this is the island of Ireland, we do politics differently here, it wouldn’t matter if you put David Beckham in leadership position in the UU. The people of NI can smell fear in a leader, it doesn’t matter how well he/she speaks, quite often its what they don’t say is what gives them away. The trends are there for all to see, if the UU wish to reverse them they need to do something radical, if not the downward trend will continue. Ciaran Mc Clean
W Duff
July 22, 2012 at 10:38 pm (UTC 0) Link to this comment
Two quick corrections, first, being pedantic here, but its impossible to “stay away in droves” ! The nationalist vote has dropped even more than Unionist one so it is a wider issue, however registers seem to show it is working class areas where the drop in voting is highest, and those areas generally are not know to favour “the middle ground”.
Gonig to East Belfast in particular, you refer back to defeating PR, you may remember the UUP candidate was on of the “most liberal”, I would suggest that a more “orange” candidate might well ahve put up a bigger challenge!
Deirdre Nelson
July 23, 2012 at 9:53 am (UTC 0) Link to this comment
Hi all,
Winnie- the term “stay away in droves” originated with Samuel Goldwyn of MGM fame and has been used since then by writers. Pedantry over.
The vote is indeed dropping everywhere, but this piece was about the UUP in particular and in 300 words it’s hard to hit all the nuances. As for East Belfast, it’s pretty widely acknowledged that the candidate’s heart wasn’t really it rather than that he was a total liberal. Incidentally, I note he was at the re-launch of the Conservatives and seems to have joined the party.
I’m not attacking the OO or the UUP here, I’m merely an interested observer, wishing to put forward a point of view. One of which is actually that we need two strong unionist parties and two strong nationalist parties to balance each other in the absence of what is seen as “normal politics”.
Ciaran, pretty much agree with what you’ve said, although I think Mike could be a pretty decent leader if he gets the chance. He’s made a good job taking on some vested interests and hasn’t been afraid to enforce discipline, even against people the public sees as senior figures. I do think he needs some new thinking around and to move back to attracting voters lost to Alliance.
Harty, I’m not attacking Mike here, but let’s be honest, they’ve been losing ground to the DUP and Alliance for the last ten or twelve years. This isn’t Mike’s fault, but he is the leader and if he continues to allow the drift, he will be responsible. All I’m doing is suggesting ways he could use to stem the tide and maybe turn it.
The OO may have no formal links to the UUP anymore, but for the first time in a while, I’ve seen more connections going on between the UUP and the OO, for example, at least twice in the last 3 months (or 100 days if you prefer) the UUP has sponsored OO inserts in the Newsletter. I don’t remember that happening for a long time.
Mike’s done a good job in his first three months and he’s had a hell of a lot to contend with. Enforcing Party discipline is great, but not if it leads to a slavish cult of the leader instead. He’s doing OK, but I think the Party needs to explore not doing OK, but doing WELL. I don’t expect miracles, but I’m looking to the future as the UUP shuld start doing and that’s what I expect Mike will be looking to next. There are no elections scheduled until 2014 at the earliest, DV, so Mike has time and space to make the changes, but he needs to make them.
Hope that clarifies matters,
Deirdre
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