This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/8519542.stm
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Nesbitt is UUP election candidate | Nesbitt is UUP election candidate |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Former television presenter Mike Nesbitt has been selected as a general election candidate for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in Strangford. | Former television presenter Mike Nesbitt has been selected as a general election candidate for the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) in Strangford. |
| Mr Nesbitt resigned as one of Northern Ireland's Victims' Commissioners on Wednesday. | |
| He will have to go before a joint committee of the UUP and Conservatives, who are in an electoral alliance, for his candidacy to be finalised. | He will have to go before a joint committee of the UUP and Conservatives, who are in an electoral alliance, for his candidacy to be finalised. |
| Strangford was held at the last general election by Iris Robinson of the DUP. | Strangford was held at the last general election by Iris Robinson of the DUP. |
| Mrs Robinson stepped down from politics in December following a BBC Spotlight programme which investigated her business dealings with her lover. | Mrs Robinson stepped down from politics in December following a BBC Spotlight programme which investigated her business dealings with her lover. |
| Mr Nesbitt is a former UTV presenter. | Mr Nesbitt is a former UTV presenter. |
| At the 2005 Westminster election the DUP had 56% of the vote in Strangford with the Ulster Unionists a distant second on 21%. There was a similar voting pattern in the 2007 Stormont election. | At the 2005 Westminster election the DUP had 56% of the vote in Strangford with the Ulster Unionists a distant second on 21%. There was a similar voting pattern in the 2007 Stormont election. |
| The Victims Commission congratulated Mr Nesbitt on his selection. | |
| "Michael has been steadfast and committed to the work of this Commission since its inception, and his contribution will be missed by his colleagues," it said. | |
| Sinn Fein's Francie Molloy said Mr Nesbitt should have resigned before he was selected. | |
| "Clearly Mr Nesbitt knew what his intentions were having had his name in for the candidacy with the UUP," he said. | |
| "His position, as one of the four Victims' Commissioners, needed to be totally separate from any party political affiliation." |