Paranoia unites across the divide

The (apparent) informal truce of convenience between the TUV and the Conservatives and UUP ended abruptly last Friday:

TUV party President William Ross – who is a former Ulster Unionist MP – has questioned the Conservative Party’s commitment to the Union following comments by Ken Clarke on last night’s Question Time:

""On last night’s Question Time the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson said that it was a great pity that the second Home Rule Bill was lost as a result of Parnell’s affair with Kitty O’Shea because "If we hadn’t lost Home Rule at that time under Gladstone and the Liberal administration we may never have had the problems which we’ve had subsequently in Ireland.""

""The next comments came from Ken Clarke who said:
"I agree with everybody else. I agree with Chris on Parnell"".

""I suspect that this remark revels much about the Tory Party’s true attitude to Northern Ireland.""

Well, there you go. The cigar-smoking, jazz-loving, Hush Puppy-wearing, Europhile Mr Clarke is now the Voice of the Conservative Party; an honour, I’m sure he, if no else of his fellow-members, will appreciate.

Nonsense, of course. The Conservative Party, unlike the cultural wing of Ulster unionism represented by William Ross, permits dissent from the norms over a whole range of social, cultural and yes, religious issues. Clarke has stated a personal opinion of the Home Rule Bill and Parnell’s peccadillos; if the Conservative Party adopt this opinion as their approved history or policy, then I’ll start worrying.

Given that level of paranoia, what Willie and Jim A will make of this news, I can only imagine. The level of hysteria* on display from even normally level-headed Irish nationalists gives the impression that the rest of us sane observers are missing something from this innocuous statement from a Conservative spokesman:

Conservative spokesman said: "Mr Paterson held private talks with a number of senior unionist politicians in England over the weekend the purpose of which was to help promote greater political stability."

"Mr Paterson holds many private meetings and we will be making no further comment on the details,"

Promoting "greater political stability" means what in this context? Exactly. We don’t know and perhaps it would be prudent to hold fire until all is later and inevitably revealed, rather than scaremongering about "Tories heading back to the barricades" and printing photographs of loyalist paramilitaries?

Update

Danny Kennedy, UUP MLA:

"It remains to be seen if these discussions will be carried forward but I think most people from the pro union community can be assured and can welcome the level of contact and co-operation that exists.”

Asked whether agreed candidates were discussed for Fermanagh South Tyrone and South Belfast Mr Kennedy was reticent to expand:

He said “I am not going to discuss the talks in any detail. They were private discussions. They were useful to that extent."

The Conservatives are rejecting any suggestion that the notion of ’ a hung parliament’ was in their thinking in talking to both of the large unionist blocks.

The Conservative Party denied suggestions that it discussed the consequences of a hung parliament with the two main unionist parties and the discussions were focused on the current difficulties at Stormont.

The (Conservative) spokesman said: "So far as the Westminster election is concerned, the only deal is the current deal between the Conservatives and the Ulster Unionists."

"We will be putting up 18 Conservative and Unionist candidates at the next election," he said.