The Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, and senior party members have been spending the day assessing the political fall out from their defeat in the South Antrim by-election. The Reverend William McCrea of the DUP overturned a 16,000 vote majority to ensure his return to Westminster. The Ulster Unionists’ failure to hold the seat looks likely to further widen divisions within the party and may even spark a renewed challenge to Mr Trimble's leadership.
The Northern Secretary Peter Mandelson has said that the by-election victory for the DUP in South Antrim is not sufficient evidence that the party now represents mainstream Unionist opinion. Reacting to last nights result Mr Mandelson said that faced with two anti-agreement candidates the majority of Unionist voters had simply chosen to stay at home thus resulting in defeat for David Trimble’s Ulster Unionist party.
Earlier, the Taoiseach described last night's by-election result as a good victory for the DUP's Reverend William McCrea, but added that it would have no effect on the Good Friday Agreement. Speaking in Ballyfermot this morning, Bertie Ahern said that the Good Friday Agreement was far stronger than any by-election outcome.
The Reverend McCrea's victory over the Ulster Unionist's candidate is being seen as an indication of widespread Unionist disillusionment with the peace process and is likely to increase the pressure on the North's First Minister and UUP leader, David Trimble. The newly elected MP said that it was time for David Trimble to resign. But Mr Trimble said that although he was deeply disappointed at the result, he would not be giving up. Mr Trimble blamed the result on the Patten reforms. The Ulster Unionist MP for Lagan Valley, Jeffrey Donaldson, called on the party to withdraw from the Northern Ireland Executive in the wake of the defeat.
In a turnout of just under 44%, the Reverend McCrea defeated David Burnside of the Ulster Unionist Party by 822 votes. The DUP victory overturns an Ulster Unionist majority of over 16,000 votes at the last British general election, in which the DUP did not contest the seat. The result was declared just after 2.00am this morning and David Burnside immediately launched a thinly veiled attack on David Trimble. The electorate had sent a message, he said, and the leadership must listen. Mr Burnside said that the party had moved too far away from the authentic voice of Unionism. He claimed that voters had told him on the doorsteps that they wanted to support him, but had to register a protest over the succession of concessions to Republicans.
Dr Ian Paisley said that the result meant David Trimble had to go, while the SDLP candidate Donovan McClelland whose own vote dropped in the face of a Sinn Féin challenge, said that the Ulster Unionists had paid the price for choosing a weak candidate.
