ULSTER UNIONIST Party leader Sir Reg Empey has been urged by a number of senior party figures to stand against the DUP’s Rev William McCrea in the forthcoming Westminster elections in the South Antrim constituency.
Pressure is mounting on Sir Reg, who is Minister for Employment and who previously unsuccessfully contested the East Belfast Westminster seat against DUP leader Peter Robinson, to switch to South Antrim.
Ulster Unionists at officer and parliamentary level and within the South Antrim constituency have made approaches to Sir Reg, pressing him to run. They believe he could win the seat and help arrest the decline in UUP fortunes at Westminster after the resignation of Lady Sylvia Hermon on Thursday left the UUP with no seats in the House of Commons.
They argued that Sir Reg would win moderate unionist votes and also votes from Alliance supporters, while Mr McCrea would lose some support because the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) have a candidate, Mel Lucas, running in South Antrim who would damage the DUP vote.
They said the fact that the prospective new minister for justice, Alliance leader David Ford was not standing would also enhance his chances.
“South Antrim is the most winnable seat of the lot for us,” said a senior Ulster Unionist. “Willie McCrea is wide open to be beaten. The TUV will hit McCrea. David Ford is not running and a substantial number of Alliance voters would vote for Reg to get Willie out.
“As well as that you have the core Ulster Unionist vote. Add them all together and it’s a walk-in for a unionist with a conservative link,” he said.
“Sir Reg running in South Antrim is being discussed at a senior level within the party.
“It is not decided yet but a number of us believe the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party should be in the Westminster parliament,” he added.
Sir Reg is understood to be weighing up with his family and party confidants whether he should run, and whether this would require him to stand down as Minister for Employment.