Allister selected in North Antrim
17 February 2010
Speaking following his selection onWednesday night as the TUV parliamentary candidate in North Antrim Jim Allister QC said he was looking forward immensely to the campaign and taking on which ever Paisley the DUP finally decided to offer.
“Of course,” said Mr Allister “this campaign will be about the big political issues of the day, including the DUP’s roll-over at Hillsborough and Ian Paisley’s bequeathing terrorist-inclusive government to Northern Ireland, but it will also be about the very important matter of restoring to North Antrim present and effective representation in the House of Commons, not least on the bread and butter issues needing attention in this constituency in these hard economic times.
“Sadly, over recent years very often North Antrim has been voiceless in Parliament. Even on some of the great national issues, like the votes on a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and the laudable attempts to reduce the abortion threshold below 24 weeks, the outgoing North Antrim MP was absent!
“This is the price we in this constituency have been paying for double and triple jobbing. Those who have not thought the voters of North Antrim worthy of a voice in parliament on such seminal issues should not now presume the right to again fail to represent the constituency in London.
“However, claiming all the expenses that are going in London does not seem to have been a problem, because in the 5 years from 2004-09 Ian Paisley claimed the staggering total of £23,200 from the taxpayer for food in London, even during the months when Parliament wasn’t sitting. Claiming the maximum of £400 per month every month but two over 5 years isn’t bad going for an MP with one of the worst attendance and voting records in the House. Little wonder that during hard times the expenses scandal, aided by such spectacles as the DUP securing a property asset in Church Street, Ballymena by having the taxpayer pay exorbitant rent of £57,000 pa which pays off a mortgage for a party company, has brought politics into such disrepute.
“I look forward to offering the people of North Antrim the same hands-on representation and presence in Parliament as I was privileged to provide for all of Northern Ireland in Europe.
“Of course, the electoral challenge of overturning one of the biggest majorities in the country is significant, but I believe the solid traditional unionist principles which TUV now represents are exactly those which hitherto North Antrim so strongly embraced. So, we go forward with confidence in this election.”
