Elliott says report to party’s disciplinary committee ‘petty’

Rodney Edwards • Published 19 Aug 2010 16:00 0 Comments

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TOM Elliott has been reported to the Ulster Unionist Party’s Disciplinary Committee.

It’s understood the complaint relates to Mr. Elliott announcing his decision to stand for UUP leadership “too early”.

Sources claim any party member interested in Sir Reg’s job was required to wait until the leader had officially resigned, which he only did last week.

Mr. Elliott announced his decision to stand back in June and is still the only UUP member to throw his hat into the ring.

It’s understood two party members, who aren’t backing Mr. Elliott reported him along with Ken Maginnis and Mike Nesbitt, following an interview they did with The Impartial Reporter last month.

In it, Mr. Elliott outlined his vision for a disciplined party and how he hoped to deliver as UUP leader. Both Lord Maginnis and Mr. Nesbitt paid tribute to the Fermanagh politician in the article, saying he was the “only man” for the job.

Mr. Elliott has angrily disputed the complaint, describing it as “incredibly petty”.

“I don’t see why I have been reported. I have no idea what rule I’ve broken. There’s no rule stopping me from announcing my intention to run for leadership. It sounds like sour grapes to me. Obviously somebody in somebody else’s camp is trying to cause problems. They are basically clutching at straws to try and do anything they can to damage me,” he said.

Lord Maginnis said there was “nothing” to the complaint: “It’s just mischievousness on the part of a group of people who want somebody else to win the leadership battle. It’s really no embarrassment to me of any sort. I’ve been knocking about for far too long to care about something as minuscule as this. There is no basis to the complaint, whatsoever.”

It’s believed Mr. Elliott’s colleague Basil McCrea has high hopes of becoming leader, making the contest a two-horse race between him and the Fermanagh favourite.

Mr. McCrea has never publicly announced his intention to stand, despite it being described as “the worst kept secret in politics”.

And last month’s interview with his three party colleagues seems to have frustrated him.

Writing on his blog, Mr. McCrea said: “An interesting piece from Tom Elliott in the Impartial Reporter. Obviously rolling out his leadership campaign on the basis that first out seizes the initiative. Rumour has it that his manifesto will be released shortly. Good to see he is a stickler for party discipline.”

When questioned on the subject, Mr. McCrea told this newspaper: “It’s interesting to see Tom surrounded by Ken Maginnis and Mike Nesbitt in your paper. You sort of wonder what the contribution of those folk to the debate is. Tom is going for leadership so you want to hear what the leader has to say, not what his best mates want to say.”

On the complaint against the trio, the Lagan Valley MLA said: “It was nothing to do with me, so I couldn’t comment.”

He did say, however, that he thinks the UUP has a “challenging time” ahead.

“You can talk about what you’d like a leader to be able to do and what makes a good leader but great leaders are able to change and adapt. Even very good leaders, may just be the right man at the right time. There is a changing of the guard coming through in our party. The leader of the party that the people are actually looking for needs to manage that transition and reassure the faithful. You need to have communication skills and you certainly need to win the battle in the East of the province. Fermanagh may play a big part in the leadership battle but a lot of the battle will be in the East. You need a leader who can do those things. It is not about being a good constituency MLA,” said Mr. McCrea.

When asked when or if he’ll stand for leadership, Mr. McCrea said: “I am going to have a long think about what I intend to do.”

Interestedly, sources in the UUP have said Mr. McCrea may decide not to stand after all but that remains to be seen.

Last week, Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey announced his decision to step down as party chief next month.

The announcement means the race for his successor can begin in earnest, with Mr. Elliott favourite to take the top job.

In accordance with the party rules, a Special General Meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council will take place for the purpose of electing a leader next month. It’s understood only fully paid-up members of the Ulster Unionist Party in good standing and registered with Party Headquarters will be entitled to attend and vote during the meeting in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.

The deadline for nominations for the position of party leader is August 31.

Speaking last week in South Tyrone, Tom Elliott paid tribute to Sir Reg and reiterated his vision for the party.

“We need a strong, united and effective team at Stormont to show that politics is not about self interest but we are there to work for everyone. The present DUP/ Sinn Fein carve up is not working and is clearly dysfunctional. Just look at the crisis in education, the scrapping of Council reform, the Maze Stadium debacle and recently, the half baked parades bill. We need to show we are a real alternative who are prepared to make things work.”

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 19 Aug 10

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