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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Hermon 'shouldn't be disciplined' | Hermon 'shouldn't be disciplined' |
| (9 minutes later) | |
| UUP leader Sir Reg Empey has said there are no grounds to discipline his party's only MP after she criticised a pact with the Conservatives. | UUP leader Sir Reg Empey has said there are no grounds to discipline his party's only MP after she criticised a pact with the Conservatives. |
| The UUP has linked up with the Tories to contest elections as Ulster Conservatives and Unionists. | The UUP has linked up with the Tories to contest elections as Ulster Conservatives and Unionists. |
| Lady Hermon has indicated she will not stand under that banner at the next general election. | Lady Hermon has indicated she will not stand under that banner at the next general election. |
| Sir Reg said that while he is dismayed by her position she is free to express her own opinions. | Sir Reg said that while he is dismayed by her position she is free to express her own opinions. |
| He said: "At this stage she's not under an obligation under the agreement with the Conservatives. | He said: "At this stage she's not under an obligation under the agreement with the Conservatives. |
| "It doesn't apply to the present parliament therefore as far as I'm concerned the objective is to persuade and to succeed." | "It doesn't apply to the present parliament therefore as far as I'm concerned the objective is to persuade and to succeed." |
| Sir Reg said he had not spoken to Lady Hermon since she criticised the pact on Wednesday evening. He added that he would meet her "in due course." | |
| In a statement on Wednesday, Sir Reg had criticised the timing of Lady Hermon's comments. | In a statement on Wednesday, Sir Reg had criticised the timing of Lady Hermon's comments. |
| "The leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party is disappointed that Lady Hermon, in the middle of an election campaign, has chosen to give a series of interviews in which she has challenged party policy and the collective decisions taken by her colleagues," he said. | "The leadership of the Ulster Unionist Party is disappointed that Lady Hermon, in the middle of an election campaign, has chosen to give a series of interviews in which she has challenged party policy and the collective decisions taken by her colleagues," he said. |
| "Her own position is not an issue in the present campaign. | "Her own position is not an issue in the present campaign. |
| "She was assured last year that she would not be required to take the Conservative Party whip in the lifetime of the present parliament. | "She was assured last year that she would not be required to take the Conservative Party whip in the lifetime of the present parliament. |
| "The Ulster Unionist Party and Conservative Party will continue with our joint campaign to bring real change to politics in Northern Ireland." | "The Ulster Unionist Party and Conservative Party will continue with our joint campaign to bring real change to politics in Northern Ireland." |
| Lady Hermon said she was elected as an Ulster Unionist and would serve under that mandate. | Lady Hermon said she was elected as an Ulster Unionist and would serve under that mandate. |
| UUP leader Sir Reg Empey speaking to BBC NI's Gareth Gordon | UUP leader Sir Reg Empey speaking to BBC NI's Gareth Gordon |
| "If my party chooses to move to call themselves by a different name, I'm terribly sorry and terribly disappointed by that, but I remain an Ulster Unionist," she said. | "If my party chooses to move to call themselves by a different name, I'm terribly sorry and terribly disappointed by that, but I remain an Ulster Unionist," she said. |
| "That was certainly my mandate and I've loved serving the people of North Down. | "That was certainly my mandate and I've loved serving the people of North Down. |
| "They have stood by me through the most difficult of times and if they choose and wish me to serve them I would do my very best to do that." | "They have stood by me through the most difficult of times and if they choose and wish me to serve them I would do my very best to do that." |
| Jeffrey Peel, the former vice-chair of the Conservative Party in Northern Ireland, said her comments should not have come as a surprise. | Jeffrey Peel, the former vice-chair of the Conservative Party in Northern Ireland, said her comments should not have come as a surprise. |
| "She made clear on many occasions that one of her concerns was that the Ulster Unionist Party is dominated by a group of increasingly elderly men," he said. | "She made clear on many occasions that one of her concerns was that the Ulster Unionist Party is dominated by a group of increasingly elderly men," he said. |
| "She's the Ulster Unionists' only MP and a woman, yet she wasn't involved in the process (of the renaming) at all so she was completely sidelined. | "She's the Ulster Unionists' only MP and a woman, yet she wasn't involved in the process (of the renaming) at all so she was completely sidelined. |
| "From a people management point of view, the Ulster Unionist Party messed up big time." | "From a people management point of view, the Ulster Unionist Party messed up big time." |