The UUP did not force by-election

Responding to criticisms about the UUP's decision to field a candidate in the Craigavon by-election, UUP Alderman Arnold Hatch said:

"It was never the intention of the Ulster Unionist Party to force a by-election in Craigavon. Indeed, we were assured that the DUP and TUV had come to an arrangement as long ago as last August--when it was reported in the News Letter.

"When it became clear that the DUP-TUV arrangement had collapsed and that all bets were off, the UUP had a decision to make. And that decision was that we would nominate a candidate and contest the election.

"And we are not the only party to make that decision. Both the SDLP and Sinn Fein are fielding candidates, so there is no reason to believe that there wouldn't have been a by-election if we hadn't put up our own candidate.

"This is not about a showdown between the UUP and TUV. We can understand the anger that the TUV has about the DUP. But the Ulster Unionist Party has also its own record and legacy to promote and defend. We believe that we took many brave and difficult decisions between 1998 and 2005 and for most of that time we were under constant attack from the DUP.

"Today, though, it is absolutely clear that the DUP never delivered the 'fair and better' deal it promised. We have a government which is under the joint and equal control of Sinn Fein--something which never happened under the UUP. We have a government which is unable to make decisions on a raft of major decisions--because Sinn Fein won't let it. We have a First Minister who cannot even convene the Executive without the nod of approval from Martin McGuinness.

"The DUP backtracked on every pledge and somersaulted away from every previous position it ever held. It has, to all intents and purposes, entered into the political equivalent of a civil marriage with Sinn Fein. It is presently being manoeuvered into devolving policing and justice powers to a puppet minister under the joint control of Sinn Fein.

"The Ulster Unionist Party believes that people have the right to make a judgment call on the DUP's record since May 2007. So much has happened under the joint leadership of the Chuckle Brothers and Brothers Grim that we believe that people will want to want to let the DUP know exactly what they think.

"And it is worth noting that we took precisely the same stand in the by-election for Fermanagh Council last year, after the death of a DUP councillor. We increased our vote on that occasion--when the DUP were forced to nominate the very Minister who had previously stood down from the Council on the basis that 'it's almost impossible to do two jobs at the same time'!

"We are a confident party. We are not afraid of facing the electorate. And we will not be manipulated into doing something by a DUP which is increasingly fearful about elections of any kind.