1. The amount of spin surrounding this seat is reminiscent of Shane Warne on a turning pitch in his prime (witness even Mick Fealty being stung last week).
2. The only three confirmed details in this report are a) Stoker isn't standing b) Peter McCann has been chosen by the Conservatives as their candidate c)The selection process will not be finished until at least mid January.
Nevertheless...
The way has been paved for a historic electoral contest in South Belfast that will pit a Catholic unionist against a sitting Catholic nationalist MP....this is interesting for two reasons. Despite his obvious problems with the Conservative link-up, Stoker is still pledging to canvass for the party. Secondly, if the DUP attitude on this is being reported correctly, why would McCann's candidature be the end of their enthusiasm for a pro-Union pact?
The former lord mayor of Belfast and veteran Ulster Unionist Bobby Stoker yesterday ruled himself out as a candidate, while the Observer has learned that health minister Michael McGimpsey will not fight the Westminster seat.
The absence of the UUP's major figures at the general election clears a path for the Conservative and Unionist candidate Peter McCann. A former BBC senior executive in Northern Ireland, McCann is a Catholic from the west of the city.
The absence of an experienced unionist with strong links to the area is a boost for sitting SDLP MP Alasdair McDonnell. If the Tories' candidate is the only one to run on the UUP-Conservative ticket, it is understood that the Democratic Unionist party will stand a rival, in all likelihood the former police officer and councillor Jimmy Spratt.
Councillor Stoker, who has a large support base in the Donegall Road, Village and Sandy Row areas, said: "As a matter of principle, I will not be standing. I was not mindful to stand under a joint Conservative-Ulster Unionist ticket, but I will canvass for the party."
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