UUP paper admits `erosion' of vote

An internal Ulster Unionist document admits the party's electoral machine is experiencing serious problems and it will have to…

An internal Ulster Unionist document admits the party's electoral machine is experiencing serious problems and it will have to take action to stop further decline.

The UUP document, which has been seen by The Irish Times, states that the UUP has to fight hard to stop the "erosion" of its share of the electorate.

The document was given to Mr Robert McCartney's UK Unionist Party by a disgruntled UUP member. A UUP spokesman last night declined to comment.

The document refers to the party's need to raise funds and proposes organising a millennium ballot with a car as the prize.

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"We have enclosed a copy of a mocked-up Glengall Street Club ballot and you will observe there is no reference to the Ulster Unionist Party on the ballot. This is deliberate. If we mention the UUP we automatically reduce the potential number of people willing to buy," the document says.

The UK Unionist spokesman, Mr Tom Sheridan, said the document showed the "air of desperation" within the UUP. "It clearly illuminates the problems the Ulster Unionists have at grassroots level. Even they are admitting their support among grassroots has declined massively."