Published: Thursday, 27th August, 2009 9:00am

Will Tom Elliott be the UUP/Tory candidate?

by Editorial Department

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Dear Sir, - I was fascinated to learn of the process by which the UUP/Tory Party will be selecting candidates for the General Election in 2010. It left me baffled as to the supposed selection of Tom Elliott MLA by the local UUP Association as their candidate only a matter of months ago.

From studying the selection process, it would appear that there is no certainty as to whether it will in fact be Mr. Elliott who runs come the General Election. The process dictates that the Tory Party will also select a candidate for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and then a panel made up of representatives of both parties will decide who the best candidate is. Throughout this entire process the Tory Party have as much power as the UUP. One has to ask why the UUP gave so much power away from grassroots members on such an important matter.

The biggest question however will not be answered until the Tories select their candidate. I have no doubt that local Tory activists, like Seymour Major, a solicitor and potentially fine candidate, could and should run. Then for the panel will be the choice. Select Mr. Elliott, the born and bred, no matter what happens, Ulster Unionist, chosen by the local people, or select the Tory on the behest of David Cameron and tell the people of Fermanagh and South Tyrone that Mr. Elliott simply isn't good enough to be an MP, and that the choice of the local Association wasn't good enough for the Tory Party.

Time will tell. However, if I was Mr. Elliott I wouldn't be ordering the campaign literature just yet. It is the stated ambition of the Tories to field more women candidates and more Roman Catholic candidates here in Northern Ireland. Goodness knows who we will end up with, but something tells me it might not be Mr. Elliott.

Yours faithfully

EX-UUP VOTER

Bellanaleck