The politics of Campbell & Campbell
07 February 2011
The politics of Campbell & Campbell
Statement by TUV Leader Jim Allister
It is no real surprise that the master of the dark art of spin, Alastair Campbell, is still in the business of sanitising the IRA. Hence his latest endorsement of Godfather McGuinness.
Gregory Campbell, however, should be capable of an honest answer as to whether if the change, which he facilitated, were to present McGuinness as First Minister, would he and the DUP serve under him? The people are entitled to know. His avoidance of the issue on 'Nolan' speaks its own message.
In fact, I have 3 straightforward questions for Gregory Campbell:
- Why in November 2006 in the House of Commons did he, or any DUP MP, not table a single amendment to remove from the St Andrews Agreement Bill the clause changing the law to permit McGuinness to become First Minister?
- Why, in the same debate, did he, or any DUP MP, not utter a single word of condemnation of the proposed change, or even force a vote on the second reading to demonstrate opposition? Saying the debate was guillotined is no excuse; there was a second reading debate on such issues of principle.
- Why, when a UUP amendment to prevent the change was defeated in the House of Lords, did DUP peers then vote in favour of Clause 8, which made the change to the First Minister coming from the biggest party instead of the biggest tradition?
Sadly, the answers are clear, because a calculated political decision was taken to facilitate the change as a means of trying to coerce unionists into voting DUP on the pretence of averting the very thing they connived to produce.
This sale of the Unionist Title Deeds to the office of First Minister was one of the most notorious incidents in the entire shady DUP/Sinn Fein deal that brought McGuinness to office.
And, in posing straight questions to Gregory Campbell he might like to explain why last year the manifesto on which he was re-elected as an MP pledged he would quit double-jobbing, by leaving the Assembly, “within weeks”, yet, this year, having shred that promise, he is standing again for Stormont?
No doubt his ‘answers’ on all fronts would do Alastair Campbell proud!
